THE  LIFE  OF 
JACOB,  CREATH,  JR. 

P.  DON  AN 


BX  7343    .C73  1872 
Creath,  Jacob,  1799-1886 
Memoir  of  Jacob  Creath,  Jr 


Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2014 

https://archive.org/details/memoirofjacobcreOOcrea_0 


fir 

MEMOIR 


[  ACO  B  CREATH,  Jr, 


P.  DONAN. 


CINCINNATI: 
R.  W.  CARROLL  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS, 

117  WEST  FOURTH  STREET. 
1872. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872,  by 
R.  W.  CARROLL  &  CO., 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


CONTENTS. 


PACB 

Introduction   n 

CHAPTER  I. 

Elder  William  Creath,  the  Father  of  Jacob  Creath,  Jr.— Sam- 
uel Creath,  his  Grandfather — Birth  of  Jacob  Creath — His 
Mother— Her  Name,  History,  and  Character   41 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  First  School  he  attended — His  Attainments — Second 
School,  and  Acquirements — Other  Educational  Advan- 
tages— A  full  account  of  his  Conversion  commenced   46 

CHAPTER  III. 

History  of  his  Conversion  continued  and  completed — A  Nar- 
rative of  Thrilling  Interest   51 

(s) 


6 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Naturally  of  a  Serious  Turn — Preferred,  when  young,  associ- 
ation with  the  aged — Never  read  a  Novel— His  first  Ser- 
mon— An  old  Sister's  opinion  of  it- -Devotes  himself  to 
the  Ministry — License  to  Preach   57 


CHAPTER  V. 

Places  himself  under  the  care  of  Elder  Abner  W.  Clopton — 
Studies  Latin,  Greek,  English,  and  Theology — Is  or- 
dained— Becomes  a  Student  at  Columbia  College,  D.  C.  6l 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Letters  addressed  to  him  by  P.  S.  Fall  and  the  Lexington 
Church — Letters  of  Commendation  from  that  and  the 
Church  at  "The  Great  Crossings"   69 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Visits  General  Andrew  Jackson — Is  burned  in  Effigy  in  Mis- 
sissippi—  Has  an  attack  of  Yellow  Fever — Trial  for 
Heresy   75 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Meets  Raccoon  Smith— The  effort  of  the  Elkhorn  Association 
to  expel  them  a  Failure — Makes  a  Tour  with  A.  Camp- 
bell— They  are  caught  in  a  Tempest — They  sing  and 
pray — Brother  Campbell  has  a  Debate  with  the  Presbyte- 
rian Tarson  of  Nashville  


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Violent  Proceedings  of  the  Franklin  Association — the  Creaths 
and  Raccoon  Smith  are  condemned  unheard  —  Elder 
Creath  marries  Mrs.  Bedford — He  makes  a  Living  by 
Farming — Ravages  of  the  Cholera  in  and  around  Lex- 
ington— Outrageous  Conduct  of  Elder  Vardeman  

CHAPTER  X. 

"The  falling  of  the  Stars" — Great  Alarm — Debate  with 
Lewis  Green,  Professor  of  Ancient  Languages  in  Dan- 
ville College — He  becomes  wrathy — His  own  Aunt  gives 
a  Verdict  against  him  

CHAPTER  XI. 

Great  Meeting  at  Versailles — One  hundred  and  forty  Conver- 
sions— The  Baptismal  Scene — Visit  to  Missouri — Family 
Devotion  

CHAPTER  XII. 

Fears  entertained  lest  "  Campbellism"  should  "  take  the  Coun- 
try"— Elder  Creath's  Lady  thrown  from  her  Horse,  and 
permanently  injured — Visit  from  a  Sister-in-law,  not 
much  to  her  Credit — Important  Episode — Bad  Treatment 
from  H.  Foster  

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Elder  Creath  gives  vent  to  his  Indignation  in  a  Pamphlet — 
This  calls  forth  a  vindictive  one  from  the  other  side — The 


8 


CONTENTS. 


PACK 

Matter  looms  up  into  a  serious  difficulty — Brother  Camp- 
bell's Decision  with  reference  to  it   114 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  Testimony  of  George  W.  Williams,  John  T.  Johnson,  and 

Samuel  A.  Young   124 

CHAPTER  XV. 

A  Year  of  great  Trouble— Death  of  Elder  Creath's  Wife— Her 
Character — Notice  of  his  Son,  William  W.  Creath — His 
first  Meeting  at  Hannibal   129 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

First  Acquaintance  with  his  present  Wife — A  Compliment — 
McVicker  and  White  steal  his  Step-son — His  Uncle, 
B.  F.  Bedford,  institutes  Suit  for  his  Property — Being 
sent  away  by  them,  he  dies   135 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Ten  days'  labor  in  severe  weather  rewarded  with  the  splendid 
sum  of  three  dollars — Five  weeks'  constant  toil,  in  Iowa, 
and"  books  bring  in  twenty-five  dollars — Involved  in  a  ter- 
rific storm  at  night   140 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 


He  preaches  in  St.  Louis  —  Removes  thither  —  Accompanies 
Brother  Campbell  to  Columbia — They  preach — Brother 


CONTENTS. 


9 


PAGE 


McChesney — First  Convert  in  New  Orleans — Her  name — 
Who  baptized  her   144 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Elder  Jacob  Creath,  sen.,  visits  Missouri — His  preaching  is 
acceptable — Elder  Jacob  Creath,  jr.,  publishes  a  book 
against  Episcopalianism   1 50 


CHAPTER  XX. 

He  visits  Iowa — People  on  the  Desmoines  River  pre-eminently 
drunken,  profane,  blackguard — Visits  St.  Paul — Is  the  first 
man  who  ever  preached  the  Primitive  Gospel  there — Great 
Meeting  at  Monmouth,  Illinois — Parting  Scene  with  his 
Mother   155 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Marriage  of  his  daughter  Mary  —  Ungentlemanly  conduct  of 
three  young  men  at  Clinton,  Hinds  County,  Mississippi — 
A  mere  pittance  for  a  large  amount  of  labor  and  exposure, 
in  severe  weather,  in  Monroe  County,  Missouri  —  Visits 
Quincy  with  Brother  Campbell   160 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Becomes  Agent  for  the  Bible  Revison  Association — Liberality 
of  the  "Border  Ruffians" — Yankee  Supper  at  Barry— Ex 
citing  Adventure  at  Louisville,  Kentucky — Meets  Broth- 
ers Campbell  and  Pendleton  at  Memphis — Phrenological 
Chart   164 


IO 


CONTENTS. 


PAGB 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

A  blessing  pronounced  on  the  Masonic  Fraternity — Ten  inno- 
cent men  murdered  at  Palmyra,  Marion  County,  Mis- 
souri— Affecting  Interview  with  them  before  their  Exe- 
cution  176 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

A  continuation  of  the  Autobiography  of  Elder  Jacob  Creath, 

from  his  Diary  for  1 862  and  the  years  following   182 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Some  Errors  in  the  life  of  Elder  John  Smith  corrected,  and 
some  Strictures  on  the  same,  and  on  the  Memoirs  of  A. 
Campbell   207 

Supplement   217 


INTRODUCTION. 


SECTION  I. 
T   the  epoch   of  Messiah's   advent,  the 


Romans,   governed  despotically  by  one 


man,  ruled  a  large  portion  of  our  world. 
Protected  by  their  "eagle,"  the  heralds  of  salvation 
safely  visited  nations  which  would  otherwise  have 
been  inaccessible  to  Christian  influence.  The  culti- 
vation, too,  which,  as  in  the  case  of  a  great  modern 
nation,  to  some  extent,  ever  followed  in  the  wake 
of  their  arms,  usually  wielded  in  an  unrighteous 
cause,  was,  upon  the  whole,  favorable  to  the  pro- 
gress of  "Truth,"  which,  the  more  thoroughly  it 
is  scrutinized  and  understood,  the  more  highly 
will  it  ever  be  appreciated. 

The  very  unity  impressed,  by  despotism,  upon 
the   various   nations   comprehended   within  the 


(") 


12 


INTRODUCTION. 


circle  of  Roman  domination,  facilitated  the  trans- 
mission of  intelligence  from  one  to  the  other. 
The  diffusion  of  the  Greek  language  throughout 
the  eastern  division  of  the  empire,  in  consequence 
of  Alexander's  conquests,  coincided  most  happily 
with  the  production  of  the  New  Testament  in 
that  most  accurate,  expressive,  and  beautiful  lan- 
guage. 

The  prevalence  of  unusual  peace  among  the 
civilized  portion  of  human  society,  favored  that 
calm  investigation  requisite  to  a  full  comprehen- 
sion of  the  sublime  science  of  redemption.  Even 
the  dispersion  of  "The  Chosen  People,"  who  car- 
ried with  them,  every-where  among  the  nations, 
their  sacred  books  and  peculiar  customs,  prepared 
the  way,  like  the  early  dawn,  for  the  rising  of 
"The  Sun  of  Righteousness." 

The  idea  of  one  supreme  arbiter  of  human  des- 
tiny, communicated  to  Adam  in  Eden,  and  trans- 
mitted, through  Seth,  Enoch,  Methuselah,  and 
Noah,  to  the  post-diluvians,  was  bedimmed,  but  not 
wholly  obliterated.  Yet  hosts  of  other  deities, 
such  as  the  benefactors  or  destroyers  of  our  race ; 
the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars  ;  virtues,  vices, 
plants ;  quadrupeds,  reptiles,  and  rivers,  were  be- 


INTRODUCTION. 


13 


lieved  to  exert  an  important  influence  over  the 
affairs  of  men.  Their  character  was  usually  the 
beau  ideal  of  what  their  devotees  most  admired ; 
and  their  worship  consisted  of  mere  outward 
manifestations  of  esteem,  which  were  wholly  con- 
fined to  certain  times  and  places. 

Their  "  Moral  Philosophy  "  contributed  but  little 
to  their  purity.  It  was  often  skeptical  or  atheist- 
ical. That  which  was  otherwise,  was  not  sustained 
by  sufficient  authority  to  secure  the  self-denial 
which  it  enjoined.  Hence  the  nations  which  were 
enlightened  by  it  outstripped,  in  the  career  of  vice, 
the  very  barbarians  who  hung,  like  storm-clouds, 
upon  their  frontiers. 

"  The  Chosen  People,"  on  the  score  of  morality, 
were  but  little  in  advance  of  the  Pagans.  With- 
out being  formal  idolaters,  they  practiced  all  the 
vices  which  flow  from  idolatry.  Herod,  their  king, 
successfully  imitated  the  luxury,  splendor,  and 
licentiousness  of  his  Roman  patrons.  Their  high- 
priests  secured  their  elevated  positions  by  bribery 
or  violence.  The  Pharisees,  their  most  influential 
religious  sect,  preferred  human  tradition  to  God's 
word;  paid  "tithes  of  mint,  anise,  and  cummin, 
while  they  neglected  the  weightier  matters  of  the 


14 


INTRODUCTION. 


law,  judgment,  mercy,  and  faith;"  "sounded  a 
trumpet  before  them  when  they  gave  their  alms  ; " 
loved  "  greetings  in  the  market-places,  and  to  be 
called  of  men  Rabbi,  Rabbi ! "  and,  under  the 
mask  of  extraordinary  devotion,  embraced  every 
opportunity  to  devour  the  fortunes  of  the  widow 
and  the  fatherless. 

The  Sadducees  professed  to  receive  the  five 
books  of  Moses,  but  virtually  rejected  them,  by 
denying  their  typical  meaning.  The  religion  of 
the  Essenes  was  a  compound  of  Paganism,  Juda- 
ism, and  fanaticism.  The  Samaritans,  with  the 
exception  of  the  renegade  Jews  mingled  with  them, 
were  mostly  descended  from  the  heathen,  whom 
the  king  of  Assyria  brought  from  "The  East"  to 
occupy  the  possessions  of  the  Israelites  whom  he 
had  carried  into  captivity,  in  the  days  of  their  king 
Hoshea.  And  their  religious  character  might  still, 
to  some  extent,  be  described  by  the  remark  of  a 
sacred  historian  respecting  them,  some  time  after 
their  migration  to  Palestine,  viz. :  "  They  wor- 
shiped Jehovah,  and  served  their  own  gods." 


INTRODUCTION. 


SECTION  II. 

While  human  society  was  in  this  deplorable 
condition,  "The  Desire  of"  all  nations  appeared. 
An  angel  announced  his  birth  to  some  pious 
"  shepherds,"  who  watched  "  their  flocks  by  night 
on  the"  "  Plains  of  Bethlehem."  An  extraordinary 
meteor  guided  eastern  sages  to  the  stable  or  inn 
where  he  was  cradled  ;  and,  with  joyful  hearts,  they 
poured  forth  their  opportune  donations  of  "  gold, 
and  frankincense,  and  myrrh,"  "  at  his  feet." 
When  Herod  sought  his  life,  God  saved  him  by  a 
dream  imparted  to  Joseph,  his  guardian,  and  the 
husband  of  his  pious  mother. 

At  the  age  of  twelve  years,  he  attracted  atten- 
tion by  his  conversation  with  some  doctors  of  the 
law,  in  the  temple.  From  that  time,  until  his 
public  manifestation  to  Israel,  his  history  is 
shrouded  in  darkness.  We  merely  learn  that  he 
was  subject  to  his  mother  and  guardian.  And  a 
remark,  subsequently  made,  with  regard  to  him, 
renders  it  certain  that  he  earned  his  subsistence 
by  useful,  and  therefore  honorable,  labor. 

About  the  thirtieth  year  of  his  age,  John  the 


1 6 


INTRODUCTION. 


Baptist  became  conspicuous.  Isaiah  had  spoken 
of  him,  seven  hundred  years  before,  as  "  the  voice 
of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the 
way  of  Jehovah  ;  make  straight  in  the  desert  a 
highway  for  our  God.  Every  valley  shall  be 
exalted,  and  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be 
made  low ;  and  the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight ; 
and  the  rough  places  plain ;  and  the  glory  of 
Jehovah  shall  be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall  see 
it  together :  for  the  mouth  of  Jehovah  hath  spoken 
it."  Three  hundred  and  ninety-seven  years  pre- 
viously, Malachi  had  designated  him  as  the  "Mes- 
senger" who  should  go  before  the  "face"  of  "Jeho- 
vah," to  "prepare"  his  way;  affording  also  a  just 
idea  of  his  character,  by  appropriating  to  him  the 
name  of  Elijah  the  prophet,  to  whom,  in  all  re- 
spects, he  bore  a  strong  resemblance.  An  angel 
had  foretold  his  birth  to  Za,charias,  his  father,  as 
he  ministered  in  the  temple. 

Among  the  multitudes  who  presented  them- 
selves to  receive  baptism  at  his  hands,  upon  the 
profession  of  their  repentance,  was  one  who  needed 
no  repentance.  "  I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of 
Thee,"  said  "the  Immerser"  to  him,  "and  comest 
thou  to  me?"    "Suffer  it  to  be  so  now,"  the  Mes- 


INTRODUCTION. 


17 


siah  replies,  "  for  thus  it  becometh  us  to  fulfill  all 
righteousness."  His  request  having  been  complied 
with,  the  visible  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon 
him,  and  a  voice  from  heaven,  called  the  attention 
of  mankind  to  him  as  "the  Son"  of  God,  the 
"seed"  of  Abraham,  in  whom  "all  nations  should 
be  blessed;"  the  "lion"  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
the  "seed"  of  the  woman  who  should  "bruise" 
the  serpent's  "head." 

A  faithful  record  of  his  subsequent  life,  so  far  as 
Infinite  Wisdom  has  deemed  it  necessary  that  we 
should  be  acquainted  with  it,  is  found  in  the 
writings  of  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John.  It 
is  a  perfect  model  of  moral'  excellence.  His  dis- 
courses were  such  as  had  never  flowed  from 
human  lips,  unless  under  the  influence  of  an  in- 
spiration which  proceeded  from  him.  And  to 
ascribe  the  works  which  he  performed,  in  attesta- 
tion of  his  Messiahship,  to  any  cause  but  that 
which  evolved  this  splendid  universe  cut  of  dark 
nihility,  would  be  to  confound  all  distinction  be- 
tween the  developments  of  omnipotence  and  finite 
power.  No  facts  of  history,  ancient  or  modern, 
are  sustained  by  a  larger  amount  of  evidence  than 
these.    His  enemies  attributed  them  to  diabolic 


[8 


INTROD  UCTION. 


influence,  or  magic,  but  never  denied  their  occur- 
rence. Even  Judas,  who  sold  him  for  the  price  of 
a  slave,  alleged  nothing  to  the  disparagement  of 
his  moral  character,  or  of  those  sublime  manifesta- 
tions of  almighty  energy,  which  constituted  the 
unmistakable  signature  of  Jehovah,  to  the  truth  of 
all  he  claimed  to  be. 


SECTION  III. 

Having  fully  complied  with  the  preceptive  requi- 
sitions of  God's  law,  as  the  second  Adam,  in  whom 
our  race  enjoy  the  inestimable  advantage  of  a 
second  probation  for  immortal  felicity,  he  fully 
satisfied  its  penal  ,claims  upon  his  followers  by 
enduring,  "in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,"  as  their 
substitute,  such  an  amount  of  shame  and  suffering 
as  holiness,  justice,  and  wisdom,  illimitable  and  im- 
mutable, deemed  a  full  equivalent  for  their  eternal 
punishment:  at  the  same  time  blotting  out  the 
handwriting  of  God,  as  regards  original  sin,  in 
behalf  of  every  human  being  who  has  now,  ever 
has  had,  or  ever  will  have,  a  place  on  this  footstool 
of  the  Almighty.    His  righteousness,  deriving  in- 


INTRODUCTION. 


19 


finitude  from  his  divinity,  is  sufficient  for  all.  It 
is  cordially  offered  to  all ;  and  if  any  are  lost  from 
the  lack  of  it,  the  fault  is  their  own. 

In  the  morning  of  the  third  day,  after  this  great 
antitypal  sacrifice  had  been  offered  up,  he  burst 
asunder  the  fetters  of  death,  and  exhibited  him- 
self again  alive  to  his  mourning  friends.  And, 
after  continuing  among  them  for  forty  days,  eating, 
drinking,  and  conversing,  he  ascended,  in  their 
presence,  from  the  Mount  of  Olives,  to  occupy 
creation's  throne. 

Ten  days  afterward,  when,  with  hearts  harmo- 
nious, his  disciples  were  assembled  in  one  place, 
"  there  came  a  sound  from  heaven,  as  of  a  rushing, 
mighty  wind  ;  and  it  filled  all  the  house  where 
they  were  sitting.  And  there  appeared  unto  them 
cloven  tongues  like  as  of  fire,  and  it  sat  upon  each 
of  them.  And  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  and  began  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as 
the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance." 

The  sacred  historian,  to  whom,  under  God,  we 

are  indebted  for  a  knowledge  of  these  wonderful 

events,  informs  us  that  there  were  then  dwelling 

at  Jerusalem  devout  Jews  and  proselytes,  from 

Parthia,  Media,  Elam,  Mesopotamia,  Judea,  Cap- 
2 


20 


INTRODUCTION. 


padocia,  Pontus,  Asia,  Phrygia,  Pamphylia,  Egypt, 
Libya,  Rome,  Crete,  and  Arabia.  When  the 
phenomenon  became  known,  and  a  multitude 
rushed  to  the  place  where  it  occurred,  they  were 
overwhelmed  with  amazement  at  •being  correctly 
addressed,  in  all  their  own  respective  languages, 
by  illiterate  Galileans. 

Peter  assured  them  that  what  they  saw  and 
heard  was  not  the  result  of  intoxication  with  wine, 
as  some  of  them  supposed,  but  of  the  outpouring  of 
God's  Spirit,  according  to  the  prediction  of  their 
own  prophet  Joel,  by  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  whom 
they  had  crucified,  but  whom  God  had  raised  from 
the  dead,  and  exalted  to  supreme  power  and  glory. 

Convinced  by  his  words,  and  all  the  surround- 
ings, that  this  statement  was  true,  and  at  once 
realizing  the  enormity  of  their  folly  and  wicked- 
ness in  murdering  him,  they  simultaneously,  with 
intense  compunction  and  solicitude,  exclaimed, 
"  Men  !  brethren !  what  must  we  do  ?  " 

Peter,  to  whom  the  "keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven"  had  been  committed  by  its  Sovereign, 
promptly  responded :  "  Repent,  and  be  baptized 
every  one  of  you,  into  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ, 
for  the  remission  of  your  sins ;  and  you  shall  re- 


INTRODUCTION. 


21 


ceive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  Three  thou- 
sand of  them  gladly  embraced  the  offer,  and  were 
saved. 

Out  of  his  first  disciples  our  Saviour  selected 
twelve,  whom  he  styled  Apostles.  Paul  was  after- 
ward added  to  their  number.  Matthias  had,  in 
the  meantime,  been  chosen  by  lot  to  occupy  the 
forfeited  place  of  the  traitor.  They  seem  to  have 
sustained  a  sort  of  twofold  official  relationship  to 
the  church.  As  the  first  of  that  series  of  pastors, 
by  whom  it  would  through  all  subsequent  ages 
be  fed  and  governed,  they  were  elders.  Peter  and 
John  so  denominate  themselves.  As  apostles, 
their  position  was  extraordinary.  Their  call  to  it 
was  immediate.  They  saw  Christ  after  his  resur- 
rection. Their  words  constitute  a  part  of  "the 
Bible."  What  they  "bind  on  earth"  is  "bound 
in  heaven ;"  what  they  "loose  on  earth"  is  "loosed 
in  heaven."  They  could,  at  once,  speak  the  lan- 
guage of  any  nation  which  they  desired  to  address 
on  the  theme  of  redemption,  though  they  had 
never  heard  a  word  of  it  before.  They  could  eject 
demons  and  heal  disease  by  a  word,  or  touch,  or 
handkerchief  borne  from  their  persons.  Even  their 
shadow,  sometimes,  was  attended  with  omnipotent 


22 


INTRODUCTION. 


power  to  save.  They  raised  the  very  dead  to 
life,  and  were  invested  with  the  ability  to  confer 
such  miraculous  endowments  upon  others.  When 
those  who  profess  to  be  their  successors  afford 
equal  evidence  of  their  apostleship,  we  pledge  our- 
selves cheerfully  to  recognize  their  claims. 

The  "Elders"  were  the  "Bishops,"  or  "Pastors," 
of  the  church.  By  a  bench  of  these,  denominated 
the  "Presbytery,"  were  the  spiritual  affairs  of  every 
Christian  congregation  supervised. 

The  "Prophets"  foretold  the  future,  and  spoke 
for  the  edification  of  their  brethren,  and  the  con- 
version of  unbelievers,  in  a  style  far  beyond  the 
range  of  their  native  ability. 

The  "Teachers"  were  a  class  of  public  instruc- 
tors, on  whom,  it  is  probable,  the  Head  of  the 
church  had  conferred  a  more  than  ordinary  insight 
into  divine  subjects,  accompanied  with  the  faculty 
of  communicating  a  knowledge  of  them  acceptably 
to  others. 

The  "Evangelists"  preached  the  gospel,  or- 
dained elders,  and  "set  in  order  the  things  that" 
were  "wanting"  in  the  congregations. 

The  "  Deacons "  were,  at  first,  appointed  to  re- 
lieve the  apostles  from  the  drudgery  connected 


INTRODUCTIOX. 


23 


with  the  Lord's  Supper  and  the  public  tables,  sub- 
sequently called  "Agapas."  Females,  when  neces- 
sary, filled  this  office,  usefully  to  others,  honorably 
to  themselves. 

Though  each  congregation  was  governed  by  the 
Presbyterial  Senate,  of  which  we  have  spoken,  yet 
that  council  was  of  their  own  selection  ;  and  the  fact 
that  individuals  were  excommunicated  and  restored 
by  the  whole  brotherhood,  showed  that,  under  God, 
they  held  the  supreme  power  in  their  own  hands. 

Faith  in  the  Messiah,  repentance,  reformation, 
the  confession  of  Jesus  with  the  mouth,  and  im- 
mersion into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  constituted  the  terms 
on  which,  by  divine  authority,  they  offered  salva- 
tion to  a  lost  world.  They  celebrated  the  Lord's 
Supper  "  on  the  first  day  of"  every  "  week."  They 
saluted  each  other  by  the  endearing  appellation  of 
brother,  or  sister.  On  the  ninth  year  after  the 
organization  of  God's  kingdom,  Paul  and  Barnabas, 
by  inspiration,  named  them  "Christians."  And 
as  all  the  beautiful  colors  of  the  bow  of  heaven 
are  but  the  manifested  elements  of  pure  light,  so 
the  attractive  virtues  which  adorned  their  char- 
acter constituted  a  complete  development  of  love. 


24 


INTRODUCTION. 


SECTION  IV. 

From  this  beautiful  model  the  Christian  Church 
soon  began  to  diverge.  The  first  important 
changes  took  place  in  its  government.  To  these 
we  propose  to  devote  special  attention.  Other  de- 
viations kept  even  pace  with  them. 

The  presence  of  the  apostles,  whose  authority 
in  the  church  was  paramount  to  that  of  all  her 
other  teachers  and  rulers,  generated,  during  their 
life-time,  a  disposition  to  look  up  to  some  supe- 
rior, which  continued  after  their  death.  With  the 
view  of  filling  the  place  which  they  had  occupied, 
the  congregations  endeavored  to  procure  the  rela- 
tives of  our  Lord,  according  to  the  flesh,  for  their 
bishops ;  failing  to  effect  this,  the  presbyteries 
began  to  elect  one  of  themselves  to  be  their  per- 
manent president.  To  him  the  title  of  bishop,  or 
pastor,  soon  began  to  be  exclusively  appropriated. 

A  powerful  impulse  in  the  same  direction  was 
given  to  the  church  by  the  introduction  of  Jewish 
ideas.  The  bishops  proclaimed  themselves  the 
successors  of  the  high  priests,  and  conferred  upon 
their  co-presbyters  and  the  deacons  the  honor  of 


INTRODUCTION. 


25 


succeeding  the  ordinary  priests  and  Levites. 
They  professed  to  be  called  of  Deity  immediately 
to  their  work,  and  to  be  a  peculiar  medium  of 
communication  between  Him  and  men.  It  began 
to  be  considered  improper  for  persons  so  sacred 
to  devote  much  attention  to  the  duties  connected 
with  any  secular  vocation.  The  Mosaic  tithe-law 
was  gradually  brought  to  bear  upon  the  people, 
with  reference  to  their  support ;  and  acting  upon 
the  principle  that  their  priesthood  was  literal,  the 
Lord's  table  was  styled  the  "Altar,"  while  the 
offerings  of  the  people  for  the  supper,  the  "love- 
feast,"  and  the  poor,  received  the  corresponding 
designation  of  "sacrifices." 

It  could  not  be  thought  arrogant,  of  course,  for 
such  favorites  of  Heaven  to  consider  themselves 
vastly  superior  to  their  brethren,  even  though  they 
might  be  decorated  with  the  royal  or  imperial 
purple.  Nor  could  it  be  denied  that  great  splen- 
dor of  apparel  became  them,  as  the  successors  of 
those,  who,  on  public  occasions,  were,  by  God's 
authority,  magnificently  attired. 

The  rise  of  "  Chorepiscopoi,"  or  rural  bishops, 
was  attended  with  similar  results.  Christianity 
selected  for  the  time  and  place  of  its  advent  the 


26 


INTRODUCTION. 


most  cultivated  age  cf  the  ancient  world,  and  the 
very  center  of  that  cultivation.  Hence,  in  its 
wonderful  history,  churches  planted  at  such  places 
as  Jerusalem,  Antioch,  Rome,  Corinth,  Ephesus, 
Sardis,  Pergamos,  Laodicea,  Thessalonica.,  and 
Philippi,  first  attract  our  attention.  The  legiti- 
mate inference  from  this  fact  is,  that  it  is  not 
afraid  of  the  light.  Progress  in  science  and  liter- 
ature favors  its  advancement ;  and  not  until  human 
intelligence  shall  have  still  more  nearly  approxi- 
mated its  earthly  culmen,  will  voices  be  "heard  in 
heaven,  saying,  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  have 
become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his 
Christ :  and  he  shall  reign  forever  and  ever." 

In  its  primitive  form,  it  was  philanthropic.  Its 
heart,  like  that  of  its  great  author,  embraced  the 
world.  And  yet,  like  the  circling  wave  of  the 
pool  which  continues  to  expand  until  it  "  lashes 
the  resounding  shore,"  it  first  enfolds  the  nearest 
objects.  Hence  their  own  suburban  population 
received  the  early  attention  of  the  city  churches. 
Their  exertions  having  been  crowned  with  success, 
congregations  so  collected  often  sought  and  ob- 
tained an  elder  from  the  mother-church  to  become 
their  bishop,  and  the  whole,  or  a  part  of  his  sup- 


INTRODUCTION. 


port.  This  placed  him  in  a  position  of  dependence 
upon  his  former  bishop,  which  was  deeply  felt, 
though  in  different  ways,  by  both  parties. 


SECTION  V. 

Among  the  causes  which  contributed  to  the 
downfall  of  primitive  Christianity,  no  one  was 
more  influential  than  the  institution  of  synods. 
The  first  was  held  between  160  and  170  A.  D. 
They  consisted  of  bishops,  elders,  and  members, 
who  represented  the  congregations  of  a  Roman 
province.  They  met  in  its  principal  city,  the 
bishop  of  which  was  considered  best  entitled  to 
the  position  of  moderator.  As  they  always  met 
at  the  same  place,  his  moderatorship  became  per- 
manent. At  his  order  they  convened  and  ad- 
journed ;  through  him  they  corresponded  with 
other  portions  of  the  church  ;  and  by  him  was  their 
general  business,  in  the  intervals  between  their 
regular  meetings,  transacted. 

When  it  was  deemed  expedient  that  the  churches 
of  a  prefecture  should  meet  by  representation,  in 
council,  its  metropolis  was  also  the  stated  place  of 


2  8 


INTRODUCTION. 


meeting;  and  its  bishop,  under  the  influence  of 
the  views  with  reference  to  precedence  which  even 
then  began  to  prevail  among  "the  Clergy,"  again 
became  their  perpetual  president,  and  sustained 
the  same  relationship  to  the  provincial  metropoli- 
tan bishops  which  they  bore  to  the  other  bishops 
of  their  respective  provinces,  or  which  these  sus- 
tained to  the  other  members  of  the  presbyteries, 
by  which  the  different  congregations  were  governed. 

Those  best  acquainted  with  such  institutions 
and  human  nature,  will  most  fully  appreciate  the 
influence  which  these  permanent  moderators  could, 
g  would,  and,  I  am  sorry  to  add,  did  exert,  for  their 
own  elevation,  and  the  correspondent  depression 
of  their  brethren. 

The  accession  of  Constantine  "the  Great"  to 
the  imperial  throne,  and  the  favors  most  lavishly 
bestowed  by  him  and  his  Christian  successors 
upon  "  the  Clergy,"  completed  the  ruin  of  apos- 
tolic Christianity.  The  pride  and  ambition  of  the 
latter  knew  no  bounds.  Instead  of  remaining 
"the  servants,"  they  became  the  "lords  of  God's 
heritage,"  the  patriarchs  and  bishops  possessing 
the  power,  and  surrounding  themselves  with  the 
splendor  of  princes. 


INTRODUCTION. 


29 


All  the  advantages,  by  which  power  became 
centralized  in  the  persons  of  other  bishops,  were 
enjoyed,  to  the  highest  degree,  by  the  bishop  of 
Rome.  His  church  was  the  largest  and  wealthiest 
on  earth.  It  was  located  in  the  metropolis  of  the 
civilized  world  ;  it  was  a  "  Sedes  Apostolica,"  or 
church  founded  by  an  apostle  ;  it  was  the  strong- 
hold of  orthodoxy.  The  large  number  of  chorepis- 
copoi  dependent  upon  him  contributed  to  his 
grandeur.  Kings  and  emperors,  to  secure  his  in- 
fluence in  the  accomplishment  of  their  ambitious 
purposes,  heaped  wealth  and  honors  upon  him. 
The  northern  Barbarians,  recognizing  him  as  the 
chief  pontiff  of  the  Christians,  transferred  to  him 
the  veneration  which  they  had  formerly  entertained 
toward  their  "  Chief  Druid."  He  construed  the 
words  of  Christ,  recorded  in  Matthew  xvi.  18,  19, 
to  mean  that  Peter  should  be  head  of  the  "Apos- 
tolic College,"  and  claimed  to  be  his  successor. 
Forgeries  were  employed  in  bolstering  his  preten- 
sions to  temporal  dominion.  And  availing  him- 
self, with  consummate  tact,  of  every  circumstance 
that  favored  his  advancement,  without  regard  to 
truth  or  honor,  he  ultimately  waved  his  scepter 
over  a  prostrate  world,  avowing,  as  God's  sole 


30 


INTRODUCTION. 


minister  plenipotentiary  on  earth,  the  right  to 
dispose  of  its  kingdoms  and  empires  at  his  pleas- 
ure ;  and  to  bind  and  loose,  here  and  hereafter, 
as  regards  man's  immortal  interests. 


SECTION  VI. 

The  character  of  Popery,  thus  developed,  may 
be  learned  from  its  history,  with  many  important 
pages  of  which  the  world  generally  are  unac- 
quainted. Enough  is  known,  however,  to  sustain 
the  sentiment,  that  when  Daniel,  and  Paul,  and 
John,  by  the  light  of  The  Eternal  Sun,  took  the 
daguerreotype  of  a  peculiary  wicked  power  to  be 
revealed  in  future  ages,  and  denominated,-  with 
reference  to  its  various  phases,  the  "  Little  Horn," 
"The  Man  of  Sin,"  "The  Son  of  Perdition,"  "The 
Mystery  of  Iniquity,"  "  The  Two-horned  Beast," 
and  "  Babylon  the  Great,"  it  sat  for  the  picture. 

In  the  meantime,  God,  through  the  writings  of 
such  men  as  Athanasius,  Augustine,  Basil,  Chry- 
sostom,  Gregory  Nazianzen,  Ambrose,  Hilary, 
Jerome,  and  Lactantius,  as  by  an  angel  ascending 
from  the  east,  as  it  were,  seals  "in  their  foreheads" 


INTRODUCTION. 


31 


a  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  of  the  antitypal 
Israel ;  thereby  preventing  the  "  Woman  clothed 
with  the  sun  "  from  being  "  carried  away  "  by  "  the 
flood"  of  Barbarians  which  the  dethroned  "Ser- 
pent" "cast  out  of  his  mouth"  after  her;  or 
drowned  in  the  deluge  of  wordliness,  will-worship, 
and  error,  which  state  patronage,  human  policy, 
and  false  philosophy  let  in  upon  her. 

Soon  afterward  she  "fled  into  the  wilderness." 
There  God  "nourished"  her.  And  though  "clothed 
in  sackcloth,"  she  bore  as  complete  and  satisfac- 
tory a  testimony  as  that  of  "two"  competent  and 
concurring  "  witnesses  "  would  be,  against  the  mal- 
doctrines  and  malpractices  of  the  new  race  of 
Pagans,  to  whom  "the  court  without"  God's 
"temple"  was  "given"  up,  and  who  trod  "the 
Holy  City"  "under  foot." 

She  still  lives.  Clad  in  her  celestial  armor, 
treading  not  only  upon  sub-hina-xy  things,  but  the 
moon  itself,  regarding  the  twelve  apostles  as  her 
jewels,  the  gates  of  "Hades"  have  not  prevailed 
"against  her."  And  the  period  is  not  remote,  if 
it  has  not  already  arrived,  when  she  will  come  up 
"out  of  the  wilderness,  leaning  upon  her  beloved," 
looking  "beautiful  as  Tirzah,  comely  as  Jerusalem, 


32 


INTRODUCTION. 


fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as 
an  army  with  banners." 

The  good  men  of  Armenia,  Mesopotamia,  Pon- 
tus,  Cappadocia,  Thrace,  Italy,  Switzerland,  Bo- 
hemia, France,  England,  Scotland,  and  Germany 
have  accomplished  wonders  toward  the  overthrow 
of  earth's  antichristian  powers ;  but  they  left  their 
work  incomplete.  Within  the  precincts  of  what 
is  usually  regarded  as  evangelical  Christendom,  we 
still  hear  of  names,  creeds,  councils,  rites,  officers, 
and  laws,  unwarranted  by  the  word  of  God. 

Out  of  the  midst  of  this  chaos,  and  refulgent 
with  the  light  of  the  "nineteenth  century,"  looms 
up  an  organization  styled  the  "Christian  Church." 
Its  object  is  to  carry  out,  to  the  utmost  limit  of 
practicability,  the  Reformation  initiated  by  God's 
"witnesses"  during  the  "dark  ages."  This  it  pro- 
poses to  accomplish  by  a  method  which,  though 
simple,  must  be  regarded  as  effectual.  It  is  to 
reduce  or  elevate  the  religion  of  mankind  to  the 
heaven-originated  model  revealed  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. 

That  this  statement  is  true,  will  appear  from  the 
following  facts :  First,  They  have  adopted  the 
primitive  name,  "  Christian."    Secondly,  In  offer- 


INTRODUCTION. 


33 


ing  salvation  to  mankind,  they  merely  repeat  the 
terms  on  which  it  was  proposed  to  our  race  by 
the  men  of  God  who  organized  his  kingdom  ;  they 
are  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  repentance,  reformation, 
confession  "with  the  mouth"  of  the  "Lord  Jesus," 
and  baptism,  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  the  steps  by 
which  we  ascend  into  that  kingdom,  the  birth  by 
which  we  are  introduced  into  God's  family ;  and 
unreserved  submission  to  all  his  laws  through 
subsequent  life,  as  the  only  condition  on  which 
we  can  found  a  rational  hope  of  ultimately  real- 
izing eternal  salvation.  Thirdly,  Their  creed  is 
scriptural,  being  the  "  Scriptures "  themselves. 
Fourthly,  Their  baptism  corresponds  with  the 
"pattern,"  being  performed  in  pools  and  rivers, 
and  resembling  a  birth,  or  a  burial  and  resurrec- 
tion. Fifthly,  Their  government  is  conformed  to 
that  of  the  "Apostolic  Church,"  so  far  as  that  was 
designed  to  be  permanent.  The  apostolic  and 
prophetic  offices  are  no  more.  They  retain  those 
of  evangelist,  elder,  pastor,  or  bishop,  teacher,  and 
deacon  ;  and  while  each  of  their  congregations  is 
supervised  by  the  original  presbytery,  the  su- 
preme authority  is  vested  in  the  whole  fraternity. 


34 


INTRO  DCCTION. 


Sixthly,  Their  worship  agrees  with  the  sacred 
writings:  "On  the  first  day  of"  every  "week," 
they  "come  together  to  break  bread."  On  such 
occasions  they  read  and  preach  the  word  of  God, 
exhort  each  other,  offer  prayers  and  praises  and 
thanksgiving  to  Jehovah,  and  contribute  to  the 
necessities  of  the  poor. 


SECTION  VII. 

Why  can  not  all  who  love  our  Lord  on  earth 
unite  on  such  a  basis?  "Oh!"  says  one,  "the 
various  denominations  which  now  exist  do  more 
good,  under  the  influence  of  ambition,  than  they 
would  from  love  to  God  and  man."  Is  this  senti- 
ment just  ?  Do  modern  Christians  use  greater 
personal  exertion,  make  greater  sacrifices,  or  con- 
tribute more  money,  in  proportion  to  ability,  to 
promote  the  temporal  and  eternal  welfare  of  our 
race  than  did  the  members  of  the  primitive 
church  ?  I  need  but  to  propose  this  question ; 
your  own  good  sense  and  intelligence  will  at  once 
suggest  the  appropriate  response. 

"  If  Christians  all  belonged  to  one  party  they 


INTRODUCTION. 


35 


would  abuse  their  power,"  observes  a  second  ob- 
jector. Ought  we  not  to  decline  personal  influ- 
ence from  the  same  consideration?  Prevent  the 
centralization  of  power  in  the  church  by  the  or- 
ganization of  councils  above  the  original  presby- 
tery, and  the  danger  vanishes. 

"The  espionage  exercised  by  one  denomination 
over  another  renders  them  more  circumspect,  as 
regards  their  deportment,  than  they  would  other- 
wise be,"  remarks  a  third.  That  is,  "  we  are  ben- 
efited by  the  malicious  scrutiny  of  our  enemies. 
We  shall,  therefore,  exercise  special  care  that  some 
of  our  fellow  beings  shall  always  sustain  so  useful 
a  relationship  to  us." 

"The  present  state  of  the  religious  world,"  re- 
joins a  fourth,  "  is  preferable  to  one  organization, 
from  the  fact  that  persons  of  every  variety  of  in- 
tellectual and  religious  character  can  find,  among 
the  different  churches,  homes  congenial  with  their 
peculiar  views  and  feelings."  The  substance  of 
this  objection  is,  that  "man's  plan  for  the  ecclesi- 
astical accommodation  of  our  race  is  preferable 
to  God's." 

Such  unity  in  God's  family  is  desirable.  First, 
because  it  would  banish  from  it  a  vast  amount  of 

3 


36 


INTRODUCTION. 


envy,  jealousy,  malignity,  and  detraction,  the  re- 
sults of  ungodly  ambition.  Secondly,  because  the 
love  flowing  from  it  would  soon  sweep  away  the  in- 
fidel objection  to  Christianity  ;  viz.,  "  See  how  these 
Christians  hate  each  other ; "  and  operate  favorably 
toward  the  removal  of  another,  viz.,  "  There  is  such 
a  diversity  of  opinion  among  you,  that  we  know 
not  what  to  believe."  Thirdly,  because  the  moral 
power,  now  worse  than  wasted  by  the  friends  of 
Christ  in  efforts  to  destroy  each  other,  would  be 
expended  in  endeavoring  to  render  his  kingdom 
universal.  Fourthly,  because  the  money  now  in- 
vested in  superfluous  houses  of  worship  through- 
out Christendom,  would  go  far  toward  the  supply 
of  every  human  family  on  this  "  Emerald  Isle  "  of 
immensity's  blue  ocean,  with  a  copy  of  God's  book 
in  their  own  language ;  while,  Fifthly,  its  host 
of  supernumerary  preachers,  now  an  incubus  on 
the  resources  of  the  church,  would  be  at  once 
available  for  the  cultivation  of  those  "waste  places 
of  the  earth,  which  are  full  of  the  habitations  of 
cruelty." 

"The  scheme  is  utterly  impracticable,"  responds 
a  fifth.  That  this  objection  is  equally  unfounded 
with  the  former,  will  appear  from  the  following 


INTRODUCTION. 


37 


facts:  First,  such  union  did  exist  among  primitive 
Christians.  Secondly,  the  differences  of  opinion 
that  then  prevailed  among  those  connected  with 
the  Oriental,  Egyptian,  Grecian,  Roman,  and 
Jewish  schools  of  philosophy  and  religion,  were 
almost  as  numerous  and  irreconcilable  as  those 
which  now  exist.  Thirdly,  the  "  Christian  Church  " 
of  our  day  has,  thus  far,  proved  a  "  success,"  eight 
or  nine  hundred  thousand  persons,  of  varied  rank, 
talent,  and  education,  having,  within  a  few  years, 
become  thus  united  in  one  holy,  happy  fellowship. 

Of  this  movement,  which  I  regard  as  the  bright- 
est gem  in  that  crown  of  glory  by  which  the  brow 
of  the  nineteenth  century  is  encircled,  allow  me 
the  pleasure  of  introducing  to  your  respectful  con- 
sideration one  of  the  most  distinguished  Pioneers. 

The  Author. 


MEMOIR 


OF 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


MEMOIR  OF 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Elder  William  Creath,  the  Father  of  Jacob  Creath,  Jr. — Samuel 
Creath,  his  Grandfather — Birth  of  Jacob  Creath — His  Mother 
— Her  Name,  History,  and  Character. 

LDER  WILLIAM  CREATH,  of  Meck- 
lenburg County,  Virginia,  the  father  of 
Jacob  Creath,  was  born  on  the  twenty- 
third  of  December,  1768,  during  the  passage  of 
his  father  and  mother  from  Dublin,  Ireland,  to 
Nova  Scotia.  His  father,  Samuel  Creath,  and  his 
mother,  were  also  from  Dublin.  Her  maiden 
name  was  Susan  Moore. 

By  education  and  profession  they  were  Presby- 
terians. He  lived  and  died  a  member  of  that 
organization.     His  son  William  was,  of  course, 

(4i) 


42 


MEMOIR  OF 


educated  in  the  same  faith,  and  continued  in  the 
same  body  until  A.  D.  1787,  when,  upon  profes- 
sion of  his  faith  in  Christ,  he  was  immersed  by- 
Elder  Henry  Lester,  and  joined  a  Baptist  congre- 
gation in  Granville  County,  North  Carolina,  under 
the  pastoral  care  of  Elder  Thomas  Bass. 

After  his  baptism  he  lived  and  studied  theology 
with  Elder  John  Williams,  a  Calvinistic  Baptist 
preacher,  of  Charlotte  County,  Virginia.  Even  at 
so  late  a  period  of  the  world's  history  as  this, 
young  preachers  were  informed  that  "special  prep- 
aration for  the  performance  of  their  public  duties 
was  unnecessary,  inasmuch  as  the  Holy  Spirit,  on 
such  occasions,  would  directly  communicate  to 
their  minds  all  the  thoughts  and  words  which 
were  requisite."  The  subject  of  this  brief  sketch 
acted  upon  such  suggestions,  but  found,  after  a 
few  experiments,  that  he  could  always  speak  most 
intelligently,  eloquently,  and  profitably  to  others 
on  subjects  which  he  had  thoroughly  matured  by 
previous  reflection.  In  Brother  Williams  he  found 
a  talented,  pious  man,  and  a  true  friend. 

During  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life,  Elder 
Creath  traveled  extensively,  preaching  in  North 
Carolina,  Maryland,  and  the  middle  and  lower 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jr. 


43 


parts  of  Virginia.  He  kept  a  record  of  his  travels, 
embracing  dates,  places,  persons,  and  occurrences. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  is  not  accessible,  so 
that  full  justice  might  be  done  to  the  character 
of  one  who  stood  high  among  his  brethren,  and 
was  instrumental  in  turning  "  many  to  righteous- 
ness." 

He  was  the  contemporary  and  friend  of  John 
Leland,  Robert  B.  Semple,  Andrew  Broaddus,  sen., 
Elder  Courtney,  Benjamin  Watkins,  Ely  Clay, 
John  Kerr,  Richard  Dabbs,  Robert  T.  Daniel, 
James  Shelburne,  David  Barrow,  A.  W.  Clayton, 
and  Lewis  Lunsford.  His  arguments  were  power- 
ful, and  his  appeals  to  the  heart  irresistible.  A 
deist  of  his  acquaintance  once  remarked  that 
"there  were  but  two  things  that  could  make  him 
cry — the  one  was  shaving  with  a  dull  razor,  the 
other  was  hearing  William  Creath  preach."  A 
member  of  Congress  observed,  that  "  he  was  the 
only  man  he  ever  heard  who  could  deliver  a  three 
hours'  speech  without  saying  something  that  was 
not  worth  hearing." 

He  was  five  feet  ten  inches  in  height.  His  com- 
plexion was  florid.  His  eyes  were  dark,  and  full 
of  fire.    His  hair  was  black  as  a  raven.    His  form 


44 


MEMOIR  OF 


was  admirably  proportioned.  He  was  strong  and 
active.  His  temperament  was  "the  sanguine." 
His  attachments,  and  resentments,  too,  were,  by 
nature,  ardent  and  lasting.  Such  men  always  have 
devoted  friends  and  bitter  enemies.  He  was  not 
an.  exception  to  the  rule.  He  was  a  thorough- 
going Baptist  preacher,  of  the  Calvinistic  school. 
He  asked  no  quarter  from  the  Pedobaptists  and 
Armenians,  and  he  gave  none. 

Elder  Jacob  death  was  his  second  son.  He 
was  born  on  the  seventeenth  of  January,  1799,  on 
Butcher's  Creek,  Mecklenburg  County,  Virginia, 
six  miles  from  Boydtown,  the  county-seat.  When 
he  was  quite  young  his  father  removed  from  the 
upper  to  the  lower  end  of  the  county,  and  settled 
on  Taylor's  Creek,  six  miles  from  the  Brunswick 
line  ;  one  mile  and  a  half  east  of  the  public  road 
leading  from  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  to  North 
and  South  Carolina;  twenty  miles  north  6f  Saint 
Tammany  Ferry,  on  the  Big  Roanoke  River;  and 
ten  miles  from  Gee's  Bridge,  on  the  Meherrin 
River.  The  county  was  fifty  miles  long,  and  thirty 
broad. 

His  maternal  ancestors  were  Virginians,  of  En- 
glish descent.    His  mother's  name  was  Lucretia 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


45 


Brame,  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Brame,  of  Meck- 
lenburg County.  She  was  a  woman  of  sound 
physical  constitution,  strong  common  sense,  great 
energy  of  character,  decided,  prudent,  candid,  and 
modest.  She  never  permitted  her  children  to 
utter  a  vulgar  word  in  her  presence. 

She  gave  birth  to  sixteen  children.  And  with 
but  little  help  from  her  husband,  who  spent  the 
most  of  his  time  in  preaching,  with  meager  pecu- 
niary returns,  she  nursed,  fed,  clothed,  and  edu- 
cated all  of  them  but  three.  She  could  read  and 
write,  and  was  well  acquainted  with  the  Bible. 
On  Lord's  days  she  required  her  children  to  read 
it  to  her,  and  to  commit  portions  of  it,  and  beau- 
tiful hymns,  to  memory. 

When  her  husband  was  from  home  she  main- 
tained prayers  in  her  family.  She  trained  her 
children  to  obey  her.  Her  house  was  a  home  for 
Baptist  preachers,  from  Maine  to  Georgia.  After 
her  husband's  death,  she  continued  a  widow  to  the 
end  of  life.  During  that  period  she  supported  and 
educated  her  six  youngest  children ;  and  enjoyed 
the  unutterable  delight  of  beholding  five  of  her 
nine  sons  devote  themselves  to  the  glorious  work 
of  the  gospel  ministry. 


46 


MEMOIR  OF 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  First  School  he  attended — His  Attainments — Second  School, 
and  Acquirements — Other  Educational  Advantages — A  full 
account  of  his  Conversion  commenced. 


HE  subject  of  these  memoirs  was  long 
styled  Jacob  Creath,  jr.,  to  distinguish 
him  from  his  uncle,  Jacob  Creath,  who 
died  "full  of  years  and  honors"  at  Lexington, 
Ky.,  during  the  month  of  March,  1854.  When 
very  young  he  learned  the  letters  of  the  alpha- 
bet, and  to  spell  and  read,  at  a  school  taught 
by  Joshua  Stanley,  three  miles  from  his  father's 
house. 

The  second  school  of  which  he  availed  himself 
was  one  taught  by  Jones  Gee,  under  whose  pro- 
found instruction  he  not  only  made  progress  in 
reading  and  spelling,  but  also  acquired  the  indis- 
pensable art  of  writing.  At  the  age  of  eight  or 
nine  years  he  was  required  to  make  additional 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


47 


valuable  attainments  in  the  line  of  an  education 
by  taking  his  position  at  the  plow-handle  and  on 
the  wagon,  and  maintaining  it  for  ten  or  twelve 
years. 

He  read  at  night  by  the  light  of  the  blazing 
brush-pile.  And  if  he  enjoyed  that  luxury  during 
the  day,  it  was  while  his  faithful  brutes  were  rest- 
ing or  feeding.  In  this  manner  he  carefully  read 
and  studied  the  New  Testament.  In  his  twenty- 
second  year  he  commenced  the  study  of  English, 
Latin,  and  Greek  grammar. 

At  a  very  early  period  in  life  his  attention  be- 
came aroused  to  his  immortal  welfare.  In  those 
days  it  was  inculcated  that  people  must  pass  by 
Mount  Sinai,  and  hear  a  certain  amount  of  its 
thunder,  before  they  could  possibly  catch  even  a 
glimpse  of  Mount  Calvary.  They  were  instructed 
that  "  they  could  do  nothing  ;  and  yet  that  they 
would  be  certainly  damned,  unless  something  was 
done."  He  underwent  what  in  those  days  was 
denominated  "  a  great  law-work." 

"  I  strove  as  hard,"  he  remarks,  "  to  observe  the 
laws  of  Moses  as  though  I  had  been  a  Jew."  He 
desired  most  sincerely  to  be  a  Christian ;  but 
knew  not  how  to  become  one.    And  from  none  of 


48 


MEMOIR  OF 


the  teachers  of  that  day,  however  distinguished, 
could  he  obtain  the  desired  information.  He  ex- 
erted himself  to  secure  the  favor  of  God,  by  his 
good  deeds  ;  and  sometimes  thought  he  had 
almost  succeeded,  when,  all  at  once,  some  gust 
of  wrong  feeling  would  drive  him  from  his 
course,  and  disperse  all  his  hopes  of  divine 
friendship. 

He  tried  to  drown  his  sorrows  in  infidelity,  but 
his  conscience  would  not  allow  him  to  become  an 
infidel.  The  sword  of  Truth  had  pierced  his  soul 
too  deeply  for  that.  He  believed  the  Bible  to  be 
the  Word  of  God,  and  "Jesus  to  be  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  living  God,"  as  firmly  as  now ;  but 
the  preachers  told  him  "  that  was  histoiical  faith," 
"  and  would  by  no  means  answer  his  purpose  ; 
and  that  his  only  chance  for  salvation  consisted  in 
being  born  again."  But  how  to  attain  that  all- 
important  boon,  the  deponents  testified  not.  Thus 
was  he  left  in  the  dark,  without  either  pathway  or 
guide.  "Had  I  been  told,"  says  he,  "to  believe 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  repent,  and  be  baptized 
for  the  remission  of  my  sins,  I  could  have  been  a 
Christian  at  ten  years  of  age,  as  easily  as  at  sev- 
enteen. 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


49 


"  I  never  saw  the  day  when  I  did  not  desire  to 
be  good  and  please  God,  my  Maker.  I  often  with- 
drew to  retired  places,  and  prayed  to  him  that  I 
might  see  a  great  light  shining  around  me,  like 
Saul  of  Tarsus  ;  or  hear  a  voice  informing  me 
that  my  sins  were  pardoned.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances nature  sometimes  gave  way,  and  I 
went  to  sleep  on  my  knees,  overwhelmed  with  the 
dreadful  consideration  that  I  was  forever  lost. 

"  In  this  state  of  mind  I  had  alarming  dreams. 
One  of  them  was  peculiarly  impressive.  I  imag- 
ined that  'the  day  of  judgment'  had  come.  The 
human  race  were  assembled  on  a  vast  plain.  The 
Saviour  occupied  a  narrow  pass  between  them  and 
heaven,  through  which  only  it  could  be  entered. 
And  no  one  could  enjoy  that  unspeakable  privilege 
but- those  on  whom  He  conferred  a  white  ball,  as 
a  token  of  his  favor.  An  older  sister  and  myself 
approached  him  together.  On  her  he  bestowed 
the  pledge  of  his  love  ;  and  she  passed  away  from 
me  into  the  realms  of  unfading  beauty,  glory,  and 
bliss.    Me  he  repudiated. 

"I  was  devotedly  attached  to  my  sister;  and 
when  I  found  that  we  were  permanently  separated, 
and  that  hell  was  my  immortal  portion,  I  awoke 


5o 


MEMOIR  OF 


screaming,  in  a  paroxysm  of  terror.  Although  it 
is  more  than  fifty  years  since  this  incident 
occurred,  the  original  impression  still  remains. 
When  I  found  that  the  scene  was  merely  a  dream, 
I  went  earnestly  to  work  to  secure  my  salvation, 
lest  the  vision  should  ultimately  prove  awful 
reality." 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jr. 


CHAPTER  III. 

History  of  his  Conversion  continued  and  completed — A  Narrative 
of  Thrilling  Interest. 

N  April,  A.  D.  1817,  the  Meherrin  Baptist 
Association  met  at  Ready  Creek  meeting- 
house, in  Brunswick  County,  Virginia, 
about  thirty  miles  from  his  father's  house.  His 
father  and  other  preachers  were  expected  on  the 
occasion.  "I  concluded,"  says  he,  "to  attend  the 
meeting,  with  the  faint  hope  of  obtaining  some 
relief  from  my  protracted  mental  agony. 

"At  the  close  of  the  last  discourse,  on  Lord's 
day,  James  Shelburne,  the  father  of  Silas  Shelburne, 
invited  persons  present,  '  in  distress  of  mind,  to 
come  forward  and  be  prayed  for,'  observing  that 
'all  who  did  so  at  the  last  Association,  a  year  ago, 
had  obtained  a  hope,  and  been  baptized,  and  that 
some  of  them  were  now  preaching  the  gospel,' 
4 


52 


MEMOIR  OF 


instancing  his  own  son,  Silas,  and  James  Jeffries. 
While  he  was  thus  addressing  us,  the  thought 
occurred  to  me  that  I  could  not  live  another  year 
under  the  mental  anguish  which  I  had  so  long  en- 
dured, and  that  the  present  moment  might  be  the 
only  opportunity  which  God  would  ever  afford  me 
of  fleeing  'from  the  wrath  to  come.' 

"Influenced  by  this  consideration,  and  over- 
whelmed with  solicitude  and  sorrow,  I  pressed 
through  the  densely-packed  audience  that  I  might 
enjoy  the  benefit  of  their  prayers.  There  was 
great  rejoicing  among  the  preachers,  both  on  my 
own  account  and  my  father's.  They  prayed  very 
fervently  for  my  salvation  ;  and  taking  it  for  granted 
that  their  prayers  would  be  answered,  welcomed 
me  to  the  enjoyment  of  God's  favor.  My  pertur- 
bation of  mind  was  somewhat  assuaged,  but  per- 
manent relief  was  not  afforded. 

"  Soon  after  this  my  father  asked  me  if  he  might 
publish  that  I  would  be  baptized  at  the  next  church 
meeting,  on  Wilson's  Creek,  three  miles  from  his 
home,  on  the  third  Lord's  clay  in  May.  I  re- 
marked that  '  I  would  prefer  to  wait  a  little  longer, 
as  I  did  not  wish  to  deceive  either  myself  or 
others.'    He  answered,  'Arise,  and  be  baptized, 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


53 


and  wash  away  thy  sins,  calling  upon  the  name 
of  the  Lord.'  I  authorized  him  to  do  as  he 
desired. 

"The  appointed  time  having  arrived,  and  candi- 
dates for  church  membership  having  been  invited 
to  present  themselves,  I,  alone,  went  forward. 
Few  at  that  time  cared  for  their  souls.  My  father 
then  said  to  me,  '  My  son,  will  you  begin  and  tell 
what  the  Lord  has  done  for  your  soul?'  I  replied 
that  '  I  had  not  much  to  tell  ;  but  that  any  ques- 
tion which  he  would  propose,  I  would  endeavor  to 
answer.' 

"  His  first  interrogatory  was,  '  Have  you  seen 
yourself  to  be  a  sinner?'  I  responded,  'I  have 
long  seen  and  known  that  I  was  a  sinner.'  '  Do 
you  think,'  he  continued,  '  that  you  can  save  your- 
self?' 'By  the  deeds  of  the  law,'  I  replied,  'no 
flesh  shall  be  justified  in  the  sight  of  God.'  'On 
whom,'  says  he,  'do  you  depend  for  salvation?' 
I  answered,  '  On  Jesus  Christ ;  for  there  is  no  other 
name  given  under  heaven,  among  men,  whereby 
we  must  be  saved.'  'Do  you  wish,'  he  added,  'to 
be  baptized?'  '  My  coming  here,'  I  observed,  'was 
the  best  evidence  of  that.'  '  Do  you,'  he  remarked, 
'from  this  time  forward  intend  to  live  the  life  of 


54 


MEMOIR  OF 


a  Christian  ? '  My  answer  was,  '  With  God's  help, 
I  intend  to  do  so  until  death.' 

"  My  examination  having  proved  satisfactory, 
they  '  received '  me.  And  the  next  day,  being 
Lord's  day,  my  father  immersed  me  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  vast  multitude  of  people ;  including 
schoolmates,  intimate  friends,  and  neighbors. 
When  I  emerged  from  the  water,  I  possessed 
what  had  never  fallen  to  my  lot  before,  'the  an- 
swer of  a  good  conscience  toward  God.'  I  felt 
tranquil  as  a  summer's  eve.  My  'peace'  was  'as 
a  river.'  I  '  rejoiced  with  joy  indescribable  and 
full  of  glory.'  I  knew  of  no  words  that  more 
appropriately  expressed  my  state  of  mind  than 
those  of  an  uninspired  poet.    They  are  as  follows  : 

,    " '  How  happy  are  they,  who  their  Saviour  obey, 
And  have  laid  up  their  treasures  above! 
Tongue  can  not  express  the  sweet  comfort  and  peace 
Of  a  soul  in  its  earliest  love ! 

'  This  comfort  is  mine,  since  the  favor  divine 
I  have  found  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb; 
Since  the  truth  I  believed,  what  a  joy  I 've  received! 
What  a  heaven  in  Jesus'  blest  name! 

•  'T  is  a  heaven  below  my  Redeemer  to  know ; 
And  the  angels  can  do  nothing  more 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


55 


Than  to  fall  at  his  feet,  anil  the  story  repeat, 
And  the  lover  of  sinners  adore ! 

•  Jesus,  all  the  day  long,  is  my  joy  and  my  song ; 
Oh  that  all  to  this  refuge  may  fly ! 
lie  has  loved  me,  I  cried.    He  has  suffered  and  died 
To  redeem  such  a  rebel  as  L 

'  On  the  wings  of  his  love,  I  am  carried  above 
All  my  sin,  and  temptation,  and  pain. 
Oh  !  why  should  I  grieve,  while  on  him  I  believe? 
Oh  !  why  should  I  sorrow  again  ? 

1  Oh  the  rapturous  height  of  that  holy  delight, 
Which  I  find  in  the  life-giving  blood  ! 
Of  my  Saviour  possessed,  I  am  perfectly  bless'd, 
Being  filled  with  the  fullness  of  God  ! 

'  Now  my  remnant  of  days  will  I  spend  to  his  praise, 
Who  has  died  me  from  sin  to  redeem. 
Whether  many  or  few,  all  my  years  are  his  due ; 
They  shall  all  be  devoted  to  him. 

'  What  a  mercy  is  this  !    What  a  heaven  of  bliss ! 
How  unspeakably  happy  am  I ! 
Gathered  into  the  fold,  with  believers  enrolled ! 
With  believers  to  live  and  to  die  ! ' 

"  I  continued  to  praise  God  and  rejoice.  I  was 
'  diligent  in  business,  fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the 
Lord.'    Many  a  happy   Lord's  day  did  I  spend, 


56 


MEMOIR  OF 


while  yet  a  youth,  both  before  and  after  my  bap- 
tism. The  hard  toil  to  which  I  was  subjected 
during  the  week  did  not  render  less  sweet  the 
rest  of  the  sacred  day." 


JACOB  GREAT II,  Jr. 


57 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Naturally  of  a  Serious  Turn — Preferred,  when  young,  association 
with  the  aged — Never  read  a  Novel — His  first  Sermon — An 
old  sister's  opinion  of  it — Devotes  himself  to  the  Ministry — 
License  to  Preach. 


ROM  childhood  I  was  of  a  serious,  con- 
templative disposition,  deriving  more 
pleasure  from  association  with  the  aged 
than  with  the  young,  and  gay,  and  frivolous.  I 
have  never  read  a  novel.  I  preached  my  first 
sermon  on  the  third  Lord's  day  in  June,  A.  D. 
1 817.  My  text  was  taken  from  Galatians,  third 
chapter  and  tenth  verse.  The  words  are,  'For  as 
many  as  are  of  the  works  of  the  law  are  under 
the  curse :  for  it  is  written,  Cursed  is  every  one 
who  continueth  not  in  all  things  which  are  writ- 
ten in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them.' 

"  The  circumstances  under  which  it  was  deliv- 
ered were  peculiar.    Two  young  Baptist  preachers, 


5« 


MEMOIR  OF 


named  Thomas  and  James  G.  Jeffries,  had  an  ap- 
pointment, on  a  certain  occasion,  to  preach  at  my 
father's  church.  On  account  of  high  water  in  the 
Meherrin  River,  or  sickness,  they  failed  to  meet 
their  engagement.  A  large  congregation  having 
assembled,  it  was  suggested  to  me  by  John  Waller, 
who  was  not  a  member  of  any  church,  that  I  should 
invite  James  Nolly,  a  Methodist  preacher  present, 
who  was  very  hostile  to  the  Baptists,  to  occupy  the 
pulpit. 

"  Having  done  so,  Nolly  looked  at  me  very  seri- 
ously, and  said  :  '  Jacob  !  can't  you  preach  for  us 
to-day  ?'  '  No,  sir,'  I  replied  ;  '  I  can  not.  What 
led  you  to  ask  me  that  question  ?'  '  Oh  ! '  said  he, 
*  I  think  you  will  preach,  and  you  had  just  as  well 
begin  to-day  ! '  After  I  had  refused  once  more,  he 
remarked :  '  Well,  you  open  the  meeting  by  sing- 
ing and  prayer,  and  I  '11  preach.' 

"  He  took  his  text  from  Mark,  first  chapter  and 
fifteenth  verse :  '  Repent  ye,  and  believe  the  gos- 
pel.' Having  finished  his  discourse,  he  invited 
me  to  conclude  the  service  ;  which  I  did,  by  deliv- 
ering a  sermon  on  the  passage  beforementioned. 
An  old  lady  present  remarked,  that  '  I  made  a 
good  prayer ;  but  she  did  n't  think  I  would  ever 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


59 


make  a  preacher.'  The  old  lady's  views  and  mine 
corresponded  precisely  on  that  subject.  And  I 
thought  if  God  would  forgive  my  first  offense  of 
the  kind,  I  never  would  repeat  it.  After  laboring 
on  the  farm,  however,  for  a  year  or  two,  for  the 
benefit  of  my  father  and  the  family,  and  employ- 
ing my  leisure  hours  in  reading,  meditation,  and 
prayer,  I  determined,  under  the  influence  of  devo- 
tion, benevolence,  and  conscience,  to  devote  '  my 
days  to '  God's  '  praise '  in  that  very  calling. 

"  I  had  no  difficulty  in  procuring  a  license  for 
that  purpose,  which  was  couched  in  the  following 
words,  viz.  : 

" '  To  all  people  to  whom  these  presents  may 
come,  —  the  Baptist  Church  at  Wilson's  Creek 
meeting-house,  Mecklenburg  County,  sends  greet- 
ing :  The  bearer,  our  beloved  brother,  Jacob 
Creath,  being  a  man  of  good  moral  character,  real 
piety,  and  sound  knowledge  of  divine  things  ;  and 
having  been  called  to  the  service  of  his  ministerial 
gifts,  whereof  we  have  had  considerable  trial,  both 
in  private  and  public,  we  have  judged  him  worthy  ; 
and  do,  therefore,  hereby  license  and  authorize 
him  to  preach  the  gospel,  wherever  he  may  have 


6o 


MEMOIR  OF 


a  call ;  not  doubting  but  that  in  due  time  circum- 
stances will  lead  on  to  a  more  full  investment  of 
him  in  the  ministerial  office  by  ordination.  In  the 
meantime,  we  recommend  him  to  favor  and  re- 
spect ;  praying  that  the  Lord  may  be  with  him, 
and  abundantly  bless  him. 

"'Done  at  our  meeting,  15th  February,  18 18. 
"  '  Wm.  Creath,  Pastor; 
"  '  Wm.  Pennington,  an  Ordained  Preacher! 

"  This  transaction  took  place  more  than  fifty 
years  ago.  And  having  obtained  help  from  God, 
I  still  continue,  to  the  full  extent  of  my  physical, 
intellectual,  and  moral  ability,  to  proclaim  to  a 
'lost'  world  'the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.' 
I  have  experienced  many  vicissitudes  in  life,  but  I 
have  never  lost  my  standing  in  the  church  of  my 
father,  where  I  was  'received,'  and  baptized,  and 
licensed." 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jit. 


Ci 


CHAPTER  V. 


Places  himself  under  the  Care  of  Elder  Abner  W.  Clopton — Studies 
Latin,  Greek,  English,  and  Theology — Is  ordained — Becomes 
a  Student  at  Columbia  College,  D.  C. 


N  January,  A.  D.  1819,  I  traveled  from 


He  had  lived  with  my  father  when  he  was  a  young 
man,  and  labored  with  him  for  some  years  as  a 
preacher  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  The 
object  of  my  visit  was  to  obtain  assistance  through 
him  from  the  Charleston  Baptist  Association  in 
acquiring  a  suitable  education  for  the  work  on 
which  I  had  entered.  He  instructed  me  to  repair 
to  the  University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel 
Hill,  and  place  myself  under  the  care  of  Brother 
Abner  W.  Clopton,  who  was  a  learned,  good  man,  a 
physician,  and  a  professor  in  the  university. 

"  With  him  I  studied  the  Latin,  Greek,  and 


Virginia  to  Society  Hill,  to  see  Brother 
Wm.  Dossy,  who  resided  at  that  place. 


62 


MEMOIR  OF 


English  languages,  and  theology.  I  found  him  an 
admirably  qualified  instructor,  and  a  true  friend. 
Through  his  commendation  I  was  ordained  by  the 
'  Old  Baptist '  preachers  of  that  State.  Their  cer- 
tificate to  that  effect  is  expressed  in  the  following 
language,  viz. : 

" '  We,  the  presbytery  called  for  by  the  church 
at  Mill  Creek  meeting-house,  Caswell  County, 
North  Carolina,  attended  at  County-Line  meeting- 
house, on  the  23d  and  24th  of  September,  1820; 
when  and  where  the  church  attended  voluntarily, 
and  unanimously  gave  up  brother  Jacob  Creath,  jr., 
to  ordination  ;  whom,  when  we  had  examined  upon 
his  qualifications  and  principles,  find  him  sound  in 
the  faith,  and  qualified,  and  called  of  God,  as  we 
believe,  to  the  ministry  of  the  Word  and  ordi- 
nances, and  have  therefore  set  him  apart  thereto, 
by  fasting  and  prayer  and  imposition  of  hands. 

" '  Given  under  our  hands  the  day  and  date 
above  written. 

'"George  Roberts,  ^ 

Richard  Martin, 

Barzillai  Graves,    y  Presbyters' 

Stephen  Chandler, 

David  Lawson, 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jr. 


63 


"  I  continued  at  Chapel  Hill  during  the  year 
1819.  In  the  fall  of  1820,  Brother  Clopton  re- 
moved to  Milton,  Caswell  County,  to  preside  over 
the  female  seminary  at  that  place.  I  accompanied 
him,  and  continued  there  until  November,  1821, 
when  I  became  a  student  of  Columbia  College, 
Washington  City,  D.  C.  It  was  then  under  the 
supervision  of  William  Staughton,  D.  D.  I  re- 
mained there  until  December,  1823,  when  I  changed 
my  location  to  Charlotte  Court-house,  where  Brother 
Clopton  then  resided. 

"  Previous  to  my  departure  from  Caswell  County, 
North  Carolina,  I  received  from  the  Mill  Creek 
church  the  following  letter,  viz.  : 

" '  The  bearer  hereof,  Brother  Jacob  Creath,  is 
a  member  of  our  church,  and  an  ordained  minis- 
ter of  the  gospel.  As  a  member,  he  is  regular 
and  orderly  in  his  deportment  ;  and  as  a  minister, 
highly  acceptable.  We,  therefore,  recommend 
him  to  our  brethren  among  whom  his  lot  may  be 
cast.  And  when  joined  to  them  he  will  be  dis- 
missed from  us. 

'"Done  in  church  conference,  at  our  monthly 
meeting,  in  November,  1821.    By  order. 

"  '  John  Lee,  Clerk,       A.  W.  Clopton,  Pastor. 


64 


MEMOIR  OF 


"  It  will  be  gratifying  to  my  friends  who  may 
peruse  these  memoirs,  to  learn  that  on  leaving 
Columbia  College  I  was  considered  worthy  of  the 
following  testimonial  from  my  fellow-students,  viz : 

"  '  To  all  whom  it  may  concern  :  The  Rev.  Jacob 
Creath,  late  student  of  Columbia  College,  having 
taken  his  dismission,  and  being  about  to  depart 
from  the  institution  :  this  is  to  certify,  that  he  has 
been  for  many  months  a  member  of  the  Enonosian 
Society  of  Columbia  College  ;  and  that  during  the 
whole  period,  his  talents,  assiduity,  and  regular  at- 
tendance have  been  such  as  to  insure  him  a  most 
respectable  standing  in  the  society ;  while  his  vir- 
tue, piety,  and  many  excellent  qualities  have  en- 
deared him  to  his  fellow-members.  He  carries 
with  him  their  deep  regret  for  his  loss,  and  ardent 
wishes  for  his  future  happiness  and  prosperity. 

" '  Orlando  Fairfax,  President  of  E.  S. 
W.  D.  Crowder,  Secretary. 
"'Columbia  College,  December,  1823.' 

"  The  following  document  was  placed  in  my 
possession  by  the  Second  Baptist  Church  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  viz  : 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


65 


"'Washington  City,  D.  C. 

"  '  This  is  to  certify  to  all  whom  it  may  concern, 
that  the  bearer,  our  beloved  Brother  Jacob  Creath, 
having  frequently  preached  for  us,  and  visited  our 
families,  we  believe  him  to  be  a  faithful  minister 
of  the  gospel,  a  pious  and  upright  Christian  in  his 
walk  and  conversation,  and  justly  entitled  to  the 
Christian  esteem  of  the  friends  of  Zion,  in  gen- 
eral, and  of  the  Baptists  in  particular.  He  having 
formed  a  determination  to  leave  the  city  for  the 
purpose  of  devoting  himself  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Word,  and  desiring  that  we  should  express  our 
feelings  toward  him,  we  most  cheerfully  give  our 
assent  to  the  above. 

" '  Done  by  order  of  the  Second  Baptist  Church, 
in  the  city  of  Washington,  on  the  seventh  of  De- 
cember, 1823. 

"  '  Thomas  Barton,  Pastor. 
William  Gordon,  Clerk! 

"The  Board  of  Missions,  unsolicited,  presented 
to  me  the  following  certificate,  viz : 

"'  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  Nov.  6,  1824. 
"  '  This  is  to  certify  to  all  whom  it  may  concern, 
that  we  have  known  the  bearer  hereof,  our  beloved 


66 


MEMOIR  OF 


Brother  Jacob  Creath,  from  his  youth  and  since  he 
commenced  his  ministry ;  and  we  know  him  to  be 
a  man  of  unimpeachable  morals,  orthodox  in  sen- 
timent, sound  integrity,  strict  prudence,  sterling 
talents,  and  a  highly  acceptable  and  useful  minis- 
ter, among  all  classes  of  society.  And  above  all, 
we  believe  him  to  be  eminently  pious. 

" '  We  do,  therefore,  most  cheerfully  and  freely 
recommend  him  to  the  Baptist  churches  in  our 
country,  particularly,  and  to  the  regard  of  Chris- 
tians and  the  community  in  general :  not  doubting 
but  that  he  will  be  blessed  in  every  place  where  he 
may  labor. 

"'Done  by  order  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  now 
in  session,  in  Wake  County. 

"  '  Philemon  Bennet,  P.  S. 
Robert  T.  Daniel,  Agent. 
William  Lightfoot,  Clerk! 

"  Before  I  left  Washington,  the  First  Baptist 
Church,  of  which  I  had  been  a  member,  conferred 
upon  me  the  following  letter  of  dismission  and 
commendation,  viz  : 

" '  The  First  Baptist  Church,  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  and  District  of  Columbia,  to  any 


JACOB  CREATII,  Jr. 


6? 


other  church  of  the  same  faith  and  order  with  us, 
greeting :  Beloved  brethren,  this  may  certify  that 
our  worthy  Brother  Jacob  Creath  is  a  member  in 
good  standing  with  us,  and  an  acceptable  minister 
of  the  gospel ;  that  his  character  is  unimpeach- 
able ;  and  we  believe  him  to  be  worthy  of  Chris- 
tian acceptation. 

" '  But  in  the  providence  of  God,  his  residence 
being  removed  from  our  vicinity,  he  has  asked  a 
letter  of  dismission  from  us,  which  we  hereby 
cheerfully  grant ;  and  recommend  him  to  the  cor- 
dial fellowship  and  communion  of  sister  churches 
of  the  same  faith,  as  he  may  wish  to  join.  And 
when  received  by  you,  we  shall  consider  him  fully 
dismissed  from  us. 

" '  Done  at  our  church  meeting,  on  the  sixth  day 
of  February,  1824. 

"  1  O.  B.  Bbown,  Pastor' 

"  I  received,  at  the  same  time,  the  following  note, 
from  a  friend  : 

" '  The  Rev.  Jacob  Creath  has  been  in  the  habit 
of  visiting  my  family  for  the  last  twelve  or  sixteen 
5 


68 


MEMOIR  OF 


months.  His  conduct  has  been  such  as  to  make 
me  believe  he  is  a  worthy  man  and  a  pious 
Christian. 

" '  W.  Dunn,  Sergeant-at-Arms. 
'"Washington  City,  Dec.  8,  1823.'" 


JACOB  CREATH.  Jr. 


69 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Letters  addressed  to  him  by  P.  S.  Fall  and  the  Lexington  Church 
— Letters  of  Commendation  from  that  and  the  Church  at 
"  The  Great  Crossings." 


ROM  the  data  in  my  possession  I  conclude 
that,  for  the  next  two  or  three  years  of 
Elder  Creath's  eventful  life,  Kentucky  was 
the  scene  of  his  ministerial  exertions.  A  few 
respectful  notices  are  all  the  material  which  I  pos- 
sess with  reference  to  this  period  of  his  history. 
The  first  is  a  letter  from  P.  S.  Fall,  couched  in 
the  following  language : 

"Franklin,  Ky.,  Dec.  15th,  1825. 
Dear  Brother  Creath  : — The  church  in  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  addressed  a  letter  to  you  some  time  since, 
to  the  care  of  B.  S.  Chambers,  in  Georgetown,  re- 
questing you,  in  the  name  of  her  and  a  church 
near  that  place,  and  many  of  the  citizens,  to  visit 


MEMOIR  OF 


them.  I  suppose  you  did  not  receive  it,  or  you 
would  have  answered  it.  I  hoped  to  have  seen 
you  last  week;  but  have  been  ill  since  my  arrival 
in  Franklin. 

"  Will  you  be  good  enough  to  pay  a  visit  to 
Louisville  ?  I  know  you  will  be  pleased.  And  if 
you  felt  disposed  to  settle  there,  you  could  not  be 
better  settled.  I  may  venture  to  say  that  five 
hundred  dollars  in  specie  may  be  realized. 

"  The  church  entered  into  a  resolution  to  give 
to  any  person  who  settled  there,  and  whom  they 
might  call  as  their  bishop,  as  much  as  would  pay 
all  his  expenses,  and  leave  a  surplus,  for  the  pur- 
chase of  books,  extra. 

"There  is  no  place  in  which  a  greater  field  of 
usefulness  offers.  The  finest  meeting-house  in 
the  State  belongs  to  the  church,  and  the  Masonic 
Institution  would  have  no  objection  to  you. 

"  In  haste,  I  am,  your  brother, 

"P.  S.  Fall." 

The  next  glimpse  of  his  history  we  obtain  from 
the  following  letter,  viz : 

"  Lexington,  Ky.,  April  18,  1826. 

Brother  Creath: 

Dear  Sir — Owing  to  the  contemplated  absence 


JACOB  CREATIT,  Jr. 


71 


of  our  beloved  pastor,  Dr.  Fishback,  the  church 
took  into  consideration,  on  Sabbath  last,  the  pro- 
curing of  supplies,  and  have  unanimously  chosen 
you  and  Brother  Vardeman  to  serve  us  one  Sabbath 
each  in  the  month  for  one  year. 

"  We  are  instructed,  as  their  committee,  to  wait 
on  you,  and  ascertain  your  disposition  in  comply- 
ing with  their  earnest  request.  If  we  are  so 
fortunate  as  to  procure  your  approbation,  should 
be  glad  you  would  make  such  arrangements,  as  to 
time,  as  will  be  mutually  convenient.  Would  you 
be  so  good  as  to  preach  for  us  on  Sabbath  after- 
noon or  night? 

"Please  favor  us  with  an  answer  as  early  as 
practicable.  We  remain  your  affectionate  brethren, 


That  up  to  the  autumn  of  1826  his  course  of 
life  in  Kentucky  met  with  the  approbation  of  his 
brethren,  is  evident,  from  the  following  communi- 
cations, viz : 

"The  Baptist  Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  at  the 
Great  Crossings,  Scott  County,  Ky.,  at  a  meeting 


"Wm.  T.  Smith, 
"Peter  Hedenburg, 
"William  Poindexter, 


72 


MEMOIR  OF 


of  business,  on  the  first  Saturday  in  September, 
1826.  To  all  whom  it  may  concern  are  these  lines 
most  respectfully  addressed : 

"  Knowing  that  our  highly  and  much  beloved 
brother,  Jacob  Creath,  jr.,  is  about  to  leave  us 
and  travel  into  other  sections  of  the  world,  and 
being  actuated  by  motives  of  gratitude  and  love, 
of  the  most  tender  character,  we  think  it  due  to 
Brother  Jacob  Creath  that  we  should  say,  to  the 
public  generally,  that  we  recommend  him  to  their 
notice  as  a  gentleman  whose  reputation,  character, 
and  standing  in  the  world  are  untarnished  and 
without  a  blemish. 

"  And  while  we  regret,  most  sincerely,  to  be 
deprived  of  his  labor  and  company,  we  trust  we 
shall  be  permitted  to  recommend  him  to  the 
religious  world  as  worthy  of  the  highest  degree  of 
their  confidence,  love,  and  esteem. 

"As  a  professor  of  the  Christian  religion,  his 
life  and  general  deportment  have  been  exemplary, 
and  worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  he  has 
been  called ;  as  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church 
of  Christ,  his  walk  and  conversation  have  proved 
that  he  is  worthy  to  sustain  the  Christian  name 
and  character. 


JACOB  CUE  A  TH,  Jn. 


73 


"As  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  although  a  young 
man,  yet  his  respectable  talents  as  an  orator,  his 
exposition  of  Scripture,  together  with  his  aptness 
to  teach,  evince,  in  an  eminent  degree,  that  in 
Brother  Creath  are  to  be  found  those  admirable 
qualities  which  constitute  a  faithful  minister  of 
Jesus  Christ,  spoken  of  by  the  Apostle  Paul : 
'having  a  good  report  also  of  them  that  are 
without.' 

"  Brother  Creath,  for  some  time,  has  labored  in 
this  as  well  as  in  many  other  churches  in  this  State, 
much  to  the  edification  and  comfort  of  the  members, 
and  to  the  general  satisfaction  and  approbation  of 
'  the  world ; '  and  his  labors  have  been  abundantly 
blessed  and  owned  of  God. 

"  We  esteem,  and  therefore  recommend,  our 
dear  Brother  Creath  as  an  orthodox  evangelical 
gospel-minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  earnestly  and 
zealously  contends  for  '  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints,'  but  whose  zeal  is  tempered  with  knowl- 
edge, meekness,  and  love. 

"  Therefore,  with  due  deference,  we  humbly  trust 
he  will  be  received  and  respected  in  the  world  as  a 
gentleman,  in  your  houses  as  a  disciple  of  Jesus 
Christ,  in  your  hearts  as  a  beloved  brother,  and  in 


74 


MEMOIR  OF 


your  pulpits  as  a  faithful  minister  of  the  New 
Testament. 

"  Signed  by  order  and  in  behalf  of  the  church. 

"John  T.  Johnson,  Cllrk." 

"  The  First  Baptist  Church  of  Lexington,  Fay- 
ette County,  Ky.  To  them  that  have  received  the 
like  precious  faith  with  us,  and  of  our  order, 
greeting  :  Whereas,  our  much  beloved  and  worthy 
brother,  Jacob  Creath,  jr.,  has  signified  to  us  that 
he  is  about  to  leave  this  State,  and  to  travel  to  the 
Mississippi  State  or  territory,  we  have  thought 
proper  to  give  this  in  token  of  his  good  and 
respectable  standing  with  us  as  an  orthodox  min- 
ister of  the  gospel,  of  unfeigned  piety,  and  an  in- 
defatigable laborer  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord. 
As  such,  we  would  earnestly  recommend  him  to 
the  Christian  fellowship  and  communion  of  our 
dear  brethren  in  the  Lord,  wherever  God,  in  his 
providence,  may  cast  his  lot ;  and  may  the  Lord 
bless  and  sustain  him,  and  make  him  abundantly 
useful  in  his  day  and  generation,  is  our  prayer, 
for  the  Redeemer's  sake!  Done  by  order  of  the 
church,  third  Saturday  in  September,  1826. 

"  Wm.  Poindexter,  Clerk." 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


75 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Visits  General  Andrew  Jackson — Is  burned  in  Effigy  in  Missis- 
sippi— Has  an  attack  of  Yellow  Fever — Trial  for  Heresy. 


lawyer,  the  son  of  my  uncle  Jacob  Creath,  sen.,  then 
residing  in  Woodford  County.  On  our  journey  we 
passed  several  days  at '  The  Hermitage,'  celebrated 
as  the  residence  of  General  Andrew  Jackson,  to 
whom  we  bore  letters  of  introduction  from  Colonel 
Richard  M.  Johnson  and  other  distinguished  Ken- 
tuckians. 

"  We  also  visited  Colonel  Robert  Foster,  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor of  Tennessee,  Moses  Norvell,  and 
Felix  Grundy.  While  remaining  in  Nashville,  I 
preached  in  the  Baptist  Church.  Thence  we  pro- 
ceeded to  Natchez,  Mississippi,  passing  through 


LEFT  Kentucky,"  Elder  Creath  re- 
marks, "in  October,  1826,  in  the  com- 
pany of  Albert  Gallatin  Creath,  a  young 


70 


MEMOIR  OF 


Franklin,  Columbia,  Florence,  Tuscumbia,  and  the 
'  Indian  Nation.' 

"  During  my  stay  in  Mississippi,  I  made  the 
house  of  Dr.  David  Cooper,  near  Natchez,  and 
that  of  Major  Joseph  Johnson,  six  miles  from 
Woodville,  my  principal  homes.  My  preaching  in 
that  country  excited  such  violent  opposition  that, 
to  vindicate  my  character,  I  was  compelled  to 
publish,  in  pamplet  form,  the  letters  of  recommen- 
dation to  which  the  attention  of  the  reader  has 
already  been  invited. 

"I  was  'burned  in  effigy'  at  one  of  their  camp- 
meetings.  Meeting  Dr.  Line,  a  friend  of  mine,  on 
one  occasion,  he  asked  me  if  '  I  was  not  afraid  to 
travel  alone.'  I  told  him  'I  was  not.'  'Well!' 
says  he,  '  you  ought  to  be  ;  for,  be  assured,  your  life 
is  in  danger,  and  but  for  the  protection  afforded  by 
the  civil  law,  you  would  ere  this  have  been  hung.' 
The  parties  most  enraged  were  Presbyterians, 
Methodists,  and  Episcopalians.  The  spirit  of  sec- 
tarianism is  the  same  under  all  circumstances.  It 
calls  for  '  blood.'  I  baptized  a  large  number  of 
persons  in  Mississippi,  some  of  whom  afterward 
removed  to  Louisiana. 

"In  the  autumn  of  A.  D.  1827,  I  had  an  attack 


JACOB  GREAT II,  Jr. 


77 


of  bilious  or  yellow  fever.  During  its  continu- 
ance I  came  very  near  bidding  adieu  'to  these  low 
grounds,  where  sorrows  grow.'  At  one  time  I 
closed  my  eyes  with  the  expectation  of  never  open- 
ing them  again  until  wakened  by  the  sound  of 
Michael's  trumpet.  Unexpectedly  to  myself  and 
others,  I  recovered.  But  this  convalescence  was 
of  short  duration,  being  immediately  succeeded  by 
intermittent  fever  ;  so  that  to  secure  the  return 
of  perfect  health,  I  was  compelled  to  abandon  the 
country. 

"  My  visit  to  it,  though  stormy,  was  attended 
with  important  consequences.  It  resulted  in  the 
organization  of  some  congregations,  and  of  an  ec- 
clesiastico-literary  institution  called  Newtonia.  It 
also  called  out  four  men,  whose  names  were  An- 
drews, Richland,  Randolson,  and  Ireton,  to  the 
work  of  the  gospel  ministry. 

"Early  in  A.  D.  1828,  I  left  New  Orleans,  in 
the  steamer  Lexington,  for  Louisville,  Kentucky. 
Thence  I  proceeded  to  Bethany,  Virginia.  A.  D. 
1829  I  spent  in  Kentucky,  preaching  at  Versailles, 
Cane  Run,  South  Elkhorn,  and  other  places,  de- 
voting all  the  time  I  had  to  spare  for  the  purpose 
to  the  study  of  the  Bible  and  ecclesiastical  history. 


78 


MEMOIR  OF 


"  The  most  remarkable  event  of  my  life,  during 
that  period,  was  my  trial  for  heresy  by  the  congre- 
gation at  the  Great  Crossings,  Scott  County,  Ken- 
tucky, then  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Silas  M. 
Noel,  D.  D. 

"I  had  preached  acceptably  to  them  in  1825 
and  1826,  as  their  letter  to  me  in  September, 
1826,  demonstrates.  On  the  seventeenth  of  May, 
1829,  I  received  from  one  of  their  number  the  fol- 
lowing communication,  viz : 

"'Dear  Brother  —  I  send  you  the  request 
of  the  greatest  portion  of  the  Crossing  Church. 
Their  desire  is,  that  you  will  give  your  views  of 
man  as  a  sinner,  and  how  the  change  takes  place, 
so  as  to  constitute  him  born  again.  Or,  in  our 
familiar  way,  as  Baptists,  we  want  your  views  of 
experimental  religion;  how  a  sinner  is  brought 
from  a  state  of  enmity  against  the  Saviour  to  be  a 
lover  and  worshiper  of  Him. 

" '  This  request  has  grown  partly  from  reports, 
and  partly  from  a  number  of  brethren,  who  have 
heard  you  preach  since  your  return  from  the 
South,  conceiving  that  you  had  abandoned  your 
old  mode  and  views  of  preaching,  under  which 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jr. 


79 


their  hearts  were  many  times  gladdened,  and  have 
sat  under  your  ministry  with  great  delight ;  and 
we  would  ask  our  divine  Master  to  grant  you  his 
Spirit,  that  you  may  rightly  divide  the  word  of 
truth,  giving  saint  and  sinner  '  his  portion  in  due 
season.' 

" '  The  above  request,  I  hope,  brother,  has  arisen 
from  the  best  feelings  of  my  heart.  I  say  this 
because  it  originated  in  my  own  breast,  seeing  so 
many  of  the  brethren  that  loved  you  as  their 
preacher,  when  here  before  (before  you  went 
South),  had  determined  that  they  did  not  care  to 
hear  you  any  more  ;  and,  in  fact,  would  not  come 
to  meeting  if  something  like  this  had  not  been 
requested.  O  Lord!  keep  us  from  prejudice,  and 
lead  us  in  the  way  of  truth ! 

"'William  Suggett. 

'"Jacob  Creath,  Jr. 

"  '  Ar.  B. — Your  uncle  authorized  me  to  change 
your  meeting  to  Thursday,  eleven  o'clock  ;  and  it 
is  so  appointed. 

" '  W.  S.' 

"As  soon  as  my  uncle  heard  of  the  letter,  he 
paid  me  a  visit  at  Colonel  Quawles's,  where  I  then 


8o 


MEMOIR  OF 


resided,  to  ascertain  how  I  intended  to  answer  the 
proposed  question.  We  were  both  connected  with 
the  Baptist  Association,  and  the  annual  meeting 
of  that  body  was  at  hand.  I  told  him  the  reply 
which  I  intended  to  make.  He  said  '  it  would 
ruin  our  cause.'  I  remarked,  that  'what  I  had 
said  was  true  ;  and  if  truth  ruined  us,  I  was  willing 
to  be  ruined.' 

"The  main  item  in  the  indictment  was,  'a  de- 
nial of  the  direct  operation  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
upon  the  sinner's  heart,  previous  to  the  exercise 
of  faith  upon  his  part,  in  order  to  produce  faith.' 
I  took  the  ground,  then,  that  '  the  word  of  God  is 
the  grand  instrumentality  by  which  the  hearts  of 
sinners  are  changed  ;  and  that  when  the  evidence 
of  our  Saviour's  Messiahship  or  Divinity  is  fully 
set  forth,  the  human  mind  finds  no  difficulty  in 
believing  it,  as  it  believes  any  other  well-sustained 
proposition,  either  in  morals  or  mathematics. 
And  if  something  has  to  be  added  to  this  evi- 
dence, beyond  our  own  resources,  before  we  can 
believe  and  obey,  we  are  nearly  in  the  condition 
that  we  would  have  been  in  if  God  had  not  spoken 
to  us  at  all.' 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


8i 


"  My  uncle  admitted  these  and  other  kindred 
sentiments  to  be  true,  but  '  thought  it  was  not 
prudent  to  say  much  about  them  at  present,  as 
the  public  mind  was  not  sufficiently  enlightened  to 
appreciate  them  ;  and  our  enemies  would  handle 
them  with  great  effect  against  us." 


82 


MEMOIR  OF 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


Meets  Raccoon  Smith — The  effort  of  the  Elkhorn  Association  to 
expel  them  a  Failure— Makes  a  Tour  with  A.  Campbell— 
They  are  caught  in  a  Tempest — They  sing  and  pray — Bi other 
Campbell  has  a  Debate  with  the  Presbyterian  Parson  of 
Nashville. 


basis  of  my  speech,  I  read  Paul's  defense  before 
Agrippa  and  Festus.  My  uncle,  who  was  present, 
indorsed  my  remarks  as  far  as  he  conscientiously 
could.  John  T.  Johnson,  who,  being  a  member  of 
that  congregation,  was  also  there,  felt  very  indig- 
nant at  their  conduct,  and  observed,  as  he  left  the 
house,  'Absolutely,  if  they  don't  let  that  man 
alone,  the  stones  of  the  street  will  cry  out  against 
them  ! '     He  afterward  told  me,  at  Harrodsburg, 


COMPLIED  with  the  request  of  the 
congregation,  and  appeared  before  them 
at  the  place  and  time  appointed.  As  the 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jit. 


S3 


that  'but  for  me  he  would  never  have  Deen  con- 
nected with  our  reformation.' 

"  Not  long  after  this  my  uncle  and  I  met 
Brother  Raccoon  John  Smith,  at  the  house  of 
Brother  Samuel  Nucleoids,  near  Versailles.  On 
that  occasion,  the  subject  of  such  operations  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  as  had  been  discussed  at  '  The 
Crossings'  having  been  introduced,  I  found  that 
Brother  Smith's  sentiments  corresponded  entirely 
with  mine.  My  uncle,  also,  upon  the  whole, 
yielded  assent,  though  he  still  had  some  lingering 
doubts.  Some  time  afterward,  however,  he  em- 
braced them  with  all  his  heart. 

"  The  Elkhorn  Baptist  Association  convened 
at  Lexington,  in  August,  1829.  An  effort  was 
then  and  there  made  by  the  Creed  and  Calvinistic 
party  to  expel  from  their  fellowship  those  who 
favored  the  adoption,  for  their  infallible  standard, 
of  the  '  Bible  alone.' 

"Their  purpose  was  frustrated  through  the 
assistance  afforded  us  by  Brother  John  T.  John- 
son, Dr.  Joseph  Chinn,  and  others.  This  triumph 
afforded  us  another  year  to  operate  in  enlighten- 
ing the  public  mind  before  our  affairs  were 
brought  to  a  crisis. 
6 


84 


MEMOIR  OF 


"I  was  Brother  Johnson's  preacher  at  'The 
Crossings,'  and  at  Georgetown,  in  1825  and  1826. 
While  I  published  'The  Christian  Examiner'  at 
Lexington,  in  1830,  I  visited  his  house  as  a  home. 
We  were  devoted  friends.  I  preached  the  funeral 
sermon  of  his  brother  James,  in  September,  1826. 

"  My  acquaintance  with  him  and  his  brother, 
Richard  M.  Johnson,  commenced  when  they  were 
members  of  Congress.  His  father  and  all  his 
family  were  ardent  friends  of  my  Uncle  Jacob. 

"In  the  summer  or  fall  of  1829  I  changed  my 
place  of  residence,  from  Brother  Quawles's  to 
Brother  Beverly  A.  Hicks's,  three  miles  from 
Lexington.  His  house  continued  my  home  until 
I  married,  in  September,  1831. 

"In  the  first  part  of  1829  I  was  chosen  by  our 
congregation  at  Lexington  as  their  preacher,  over 
Elder  Jeremiah  Vardeman.  This  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  a  deep  and  lasting  hostility  on  his  part  to- 
ward me,  which  he  exhibited  on  various  subsequent 
occasions. 

"In  December,  1829,  I  set  out  on  a  journey 
with  Brother  Alexander  Campbell,  from  Lexington, 
Ky.,  to  Nashville,  Tenn.  On  our  way  we  held  a 
meeting  at  Danville,  baptizing  eight  or  ten  persons. 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


85 


General  Jennings  was  of  the  number.  The  morn- 
ing we  left  Franklin,  in  Simpson  County,  a  terrific 
storm  burst  upon  us.  Trees  broke  and  fell  all 
around  us.  We  halted  and  sang  the  following 
words,  viz : 

'"How  are  thy  servants  bless'd,  oh  Lord! 
How  sure  is  their  defense  ! 
Eternal  Wisdom  is  their  guide; 
Their  help  Omnipotence.' 

"  We  then  united  in  prayer. 

"The  first  night  that  Brother  Campbell  preached 
in  Nashville,  'The  Apostasy'  was  his  theme.  One 
of  his  hearers  was  Obediah  Jennings,  D.  D.,  the 
Presbyterian  clergyman  of  the  place,  with  whom 
Brother  Campbell  held  a  debate,  an  account  of 
which  was  published  in  'The  Harbinger'  of  1830. 
We  also  had  a  number  of  confessions  and  baptisms. 
We  preached  also  at  Franklin  and  Columbia. 

"  On  our  return  route  we  traveled  through  the 
southern  part  of  Kentucky,  preaching  at  Bowling 
Green,  Russellville,  and  Greensburg.  We  pursued 
our  way,  alternately  journeying  and  preaching, 
until  we  reached  Lexington.  There  I  remained. 
Brother  Campbell  proceeded  homeward. 

"In  March,  1830,  I  baptized  Dr.  Theodore  Bell, 


86 


MEMOIR  OF 


now  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  Joseph  G.  Norwood. 
The  former  is  eminent  as  a  physician ;  the  latter 
as  a  geologist. 

"In  June  or  July,  1830,  my  uncle  and  I  visited 
Elder  Vardeman,  in  Fayette  County,  to  ascertain 
what  course  he  intended  to  pursue  at  the  meeting 
of  the  Elkhorn  Association,  which  was  to  take 
place  in  August.  The  protracted  conversation 
that  took  place  between  my  uncle  and  him,  in 
which  they  recounted  many  of  their  most  interest- 
ing adventures  in  public  life,  with  their  strictures 
upon  them,  was  exceedingly  amusing  to  me,  who 
was  their  only  hearer. 

"  We  found  that,  to  use  his  own  complimentary 
phraseology,  '  he  intended  to  die  between  the  Par- 
ticular Baptists  and  the  Christians,  as  our  Saviour 
died  betweeen  two  thieves.'  My  uncle  told  him 
that  '  If  his  old  enemies,  the  Particular  Baptists, 
caught  him,  they  would  serve  him  as  the  old  Ca- 
naanitish  king,  Adonibezek,  treated  his  prisoners — 
cut  off  his  thumbs  and  great  toes,  and  make  him 
eat  bread  under  their  table,  all  the  days  of  his  life ; 
and  if  he  fell  into  our  hands,  with  whom  he  had 
formerly  acted,  he  knew  what  we  ought  to  do  with 
him.' 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


87 


"Among  other  remarks  made  by  him,  on  this 
occasion,  I  may  mention  the  following,  viz :  '  The 
preachers  received  but  little  money  before  the 
Reformation — they  would  have  to  get  along  on 
still  less  now.'  '  He  intended  to  pursue  his  old 
course  of  text-preaching.  He  was  too  old  to  begin 
this  chapter-preaching.  He  had  heard  him  (my 
uncle)  try  it,  and  he  had  tried  it  himself,  but 
neither  of  them  succeeded  like  Morton,  Gates,  and 
the  other  young  preachers.'" 


8S 


MEMOIR  OF 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Violent  Proceedings  of  the  Franklin  Association — The  Creaths  and 
Raccoon  Smith  are  condemned  unheard — Elder  Creath  marries 
Mrs.  Bedford — He  makes  a  Living  by  Farming — Ravages  of 
the  Cholera  in  and  around  Lexington — Outrageous  Conduct  of 
Elder  Vardeman. 


|HE  Elkhorn  Association  is  the  ecclesias- 
tical judicatory  by  which,  in  A.  D.  1830, 
my  Uncle  Jacob  and  myself  were  ostra- 
cized from  the  Baptist  Church.  Our  heinous  of- 
fense was,  the  preference  of  God's  unadulterated 
word,  as  '  the  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice,' 
to  human  creeds  and  theological  systems. 

"As  a  fair  specimen  of  the  course  of  procedure, 
which  has  in  all  ages  characterized  these  venera- 
ble and  lovely  human  institutions,  I  will  quote  a 
few  sentences  from  a  full  account,  written  by  me, 
and  published  in  The  Millennial  Harbinger,  of 
1830: 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


89 


" '  Ab  uno  omnia  disce.'  While  the  letters  from 
the  churches  were  being  read,  as  usual  at  such 
meetings,  Messrs.  Vardeman  and  E.  Waller  acted 
in  a  very  disorderly  manner,  calling  first  upon  the 
clerk  to  desist  from  reading  them,  and  then  upon 
the  moderator  to  order  him  to  do  so.  The  Rever- 
end Mr.  Vardeman,  failing  to  accomplish  his  pur- 
pose thus,  rose  with  his  cudgel  in  his  hand,  as  if 
prepared  to  strike,  and  furiously  remarked  :  '  Mr. 
Moderator  !  I  must  and  I  will  be  heard  ! ' 

"  During  the  preceding  month  another  conven- 
tion of  the  reverend  clergy,  styled  '  The  Franklin 
Association,'  met  at  Frankfort.  The  object  of 
their  meeting  was  to  prepare  charges  against  the 
EJkhorn  Association  for  retaining  the  Creaths  in 
their  fellowship. 

"  My  Uncle  Jacob,  Raccoon  John  Smith,  and  my- 
self were  in  attendance.  When  our  names  were 
called,  and  the  charge  of  not  preaching  Baptist 
doctrine  was  preferred  against  us,  I,  being  the 
youngest,  and  not  the  least  forward  of  the  three, 
rose  first,  and  asked  the  privilege  of  making  my 
defense ;  stating,  as  the  other  brethren  had  also 
done,  that  I  had  all  the  documents  and  witnesses 
requisite  to  disprove  what  was  alleged  against  me. 


90 


MEMOIR  OF 


"The  moderator  commanded  me  to  'sit  down.' 
Different  members  of  the  body  called  me  to  order; 
and  I  was  ultimately  stamped  down."  My  uncle 
then  arose,  and  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  aisle, 
with  his  right  hand  on  the  top  of  his  hoary  head, 
spoke  as  follows  : 

"'Brother  Moderator! — I  am  sixty  years  of 
age.  I  have  served  God  and  my  country  forty 
years,  and  this  is  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  have 
ever  heard  of  a  man  being  arraigned  for  crime  at 
the  bar  of  any  court,  and  condemned  without 
enjoying  the  privilege  of  being  heard  in  his  own 
defense.' 

"As  he  uttered  these  words,  many  voices  harshly 
called  him  to  order.  Others  stamped  with  their 
feet,  while  the  moderator,  in  a  thundering  tone, 
cried  out,  'Sit  down,  sir!'  Brother  Raccoon 
Smith  attempted  to  speak,  but  met  with  the  same 
treatment. 

"  What  I  state  was  seen  and  heard  by  hundreds 
of  people.  One  wicked  man,  as  he  left  the  house, 
swore  'it  was  worse  than  the  Spanish  Inquisition.' 
When  the  meeting  was  over,  an  old  man,  who  was 
a  Baptist,  remarked,  that  '  he  was  no  Campbcllitc, 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


91 


but  they  had  treated  the  Brothers  Creath  worse 
than  barbarians.' 

"  Most  of  the  actors  in  these  scenes  are  now 
numbered  with  the  dead.  I  have  outlived  them. 
I  forgive  them  all  their  cruelty  and  wrong.  I  hope 
God  granted  them  mercy  before  their  names  were 
called  for  trial  in  the  spirit-world. 

"  '  Let  not  this  weak  and  erring  hand 
Presume  thy  bolts  to  throw, 
And  deal  damnation  round  the  land 
On  each  I  judge  thy  foe. 

'  Teach  me  to  feel  another's  woe, 

To  hide  the  fault  I  see  ; 
That  mercy  I  to  others  show, 
That  mercy  show  to  me ! ' 

"  The  anathema  pronounced  upon  us  under 
these  circumstances,  was  recorded  in  their  Min- 
utes, and  published  throughout  the  United  States, 
and,  I  presume,  the  empire  of  Great  Britain. 

"In  September,  183  [,  I  married  Mrs.  Susan 
Bedford,  the  widow  of  Sidney  Bedford,  of  Bour- 
bon County.  In  1832,  I  followed  the  useful  and 
honorable,  but  laborious  business  of  farming 
for  a  livelihood  ;   preaching  on  Saturdays  and 


92 


MEMOIR  OF 


Lord's  days  at  David's  Fork,  Lexington,  Clear 
Creek,  South  Elkhorn,  Providence,  Nicholasville, 
Cane  Run,  and  other  places  in  the  adjoining 
counties. 

"In  the  autumn  of  1833,  I  removed  from  the 
farm  of  Andrew  Price,  the  great  uncle  of  my  wife, 
to  that  of  Milton  McCann,  eight  miles  from 
Lexington,  on  the  Winchester  road.  I  baptized 
a  great  number  of  people  in  the  years  1832 
and  1833. 

"  In  A.  D.  1.833,  tne  cholera  killed  from  five  to 
seven  hundred  people  in  Lexington  and  its  vicin- 
ity. I  and  my  family  had  it,  but  none  of  us  died. 
I  was  my  own  physician  ;  doctors  could  not  be 
procured.  Forty  persons  died  in  sight  of  our 
farm.  During  this  period  I  have  gone  to  Lex- 
ington in  the  day-time,  and  found  every  door 
shut  —  not  a  soul  to  be  seen  in  the  street.  The 
solitude  and  silence  of  death  and  the  grave  were 
there. 

"  While  these  dismal  scenes  continued  I  derived 
great  comfort  from  meditating  upon  the  ninety- 
first  Psalm  :  '  He  that  dwelleth  in  the  secret  place 
of  the  Most  High  shall  abide  under  the  shadow  of 
the  Almighty.    I  will  say  of  the  Lord,  He  is  my 


JACOB  CEEATH,  Jb. 


93 


refuge  and  my  fortress :  my  God  ;  in  him  will  I 
trust.  Surely  he  shall  deliver  thee  from  the  snare 
of  the  fowler,  and  from  the  noisome  pestilence. 
He  shall  cover  thee  with  his  feathers,  and  under 
his  wings  shalt  thou  trust :  his  truth  shall  be  thy 
shield  and  buckler.  Thou  shalt  not  be  afraid  for 
the  terror  by  night ;  nor  of  the  arrow  that  flieth 
by  day ;  nor  for  the  pestilence  that  walketh  in 
darkness  ;  nor  for  the  destruction  that  wasteth  at 
noon-day.  A  thousand  shall  fall  at  thy  side,  and 
ten  thousand  at  thy  right  hand ;  but  it  shall  not 
come  nigh  thee.  Only  with  thine  eyes  shalt 
thou  behold  and  see  the  reward  of  the  wicked. 
Because  thou  hast  made  the  Lord,  which  is 
my  refuge,  even  the  Most  High,  thy  habitation  ; 
there  shall  no  evil  befall  thee,  neither  shall  any 
plague  come  nigh  thy  dwelling.  For  he  shall 
give  his  angels  charge  over  thee,  to  keep  thee 
in  all  thy  ways.  They  shall  bear  thee  up  in 
their  hands,  lest  thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a 
stone,'  etc.,  etc. 

"  The  forty-sixth  Psalm  also  afforded  me  great 
pleasure.  It  begins  with  the  words,  'God  is  our 
refuge  and  strength,  a  very  present  help  in  trouble. 
Therefore  will  we  not  fear,  though  the  earth  be  re- 


94 


MEMOIR  OF 


moved,  and  though  the  mountains  be  carried  into 
the  midst  of  the  sea ;  though  the  waters  thereof 
roar  and  be  troubled,  though  the  mountains  shake 
with  the  swelling  thereof.'  " 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jr. 


95 


CHAPTER  X. 

"The  falling  of  the  Stars" — Great  Alarm — Debate  with  Lewis 
Green,  Professor  of  Ancient  Languages  in  Danville  College — 
He  becomes  wrathy — His  own  Aunt  gives  a  Verdict  against  him. 

=N  November,  1833, 1  enjoyed  the  exquisite 
pleasure  of  beholding  what  was  generally 
denominated  '  the  falling  of  the  stars.' 
I  happened  to  be  on  my  way  to  the  market,  in 
Lexington,  very  early  in  the  morning,  and  saw  the 
whole  of  it.  And  a  most  splendid  scene,  truly, 
it  was  ! 

"  My  horse  became  so  much  alarmed  at  the  un- 
usual spectacle,  that  I  was  compelled  to  dismount 
and  lead  him.  When  I  reached  the  market-house, 
there  were  but  few  there,  and  they  were  in  a  state 
of  the  wildest  excitement.  One  said  to  another, 
'  This  is  what  is  referred  to  in  the  book  of  Revela- 
tion, where  it  is  said,  The  stars  of  heaven  fell  unto 


96 


MEMOIR  OF 


the  earth,  even  as  a  fig-tree  casteth  her  untimely 
figs  when  she  is  shaken  of  a  mighty  wind.'  '  The 
day  of  judgment  is  indeed  come,  and  we  are  not 
prepared ! ' 

"  The  most  remarkable  event  of  my  life,  during 
the  year  1834,  was  a  debate  with  Lewis  Green, 
Professor  of  Ancient  Languages  in  Danville  Col- 
lege. It  took  place  in  July,  at  McCormick's  meet- 
ing-house, in  Lincoln  County. 

"  Our  Reformation,  then,  had  made  but  little 
progress  in  that  part  of  Kentucky ;  being  very 
much  misrepresented,  and  having  but  few  friends. 
Among  their  number  was  a  preacher  named 
Nathan  Waters,  who,  in  all  sincerity,  and  to  the 
best  of  his  ability,  plead  the  cause  of  the  Bible 
versus  human  tradition  and  speculation. 

"  This  brought  upon  him  the  wrath  of  the  afore- 
said Green,  who  treated  him  and  his  cause  in  the 
most  contemptuous  manner,  frequently  bantering 
him  to  procure  some  one,  from  the  north  side  of 
the  Kentucky  River,  to  defend  what  he  was  pleased 
to  style  '  Campbellism.' 

"  Brother  Waters  wrote  to  my  Uncle  Jacob,  but 
he  declined,  entertaining  the  opinion  that  'he 
had  not  sufficient  learning  to  cope,  on  equal  terms, 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


97 


with  so  profound  an  adversary.  Brothers  William 
Morton  and  John  T.  Johnson  declined  for  the 
same  reason. 

"  My  uncle  then  called  on  me.  But  I  did  not 
feel  like  fighting.  The  proposed  scene  of  conflict 
was  fifty  or  sixty  miles  distant;  I  had  not  been 
long  married  ;  the  weather  was  very  hot,  and  it 
was  harvest  time.    I  therefore  declined,  too. 

"  But  after  Brother  Waters  had  made  a  second 
application  to  my  uncle,  and  he  had  ridden  twenty 
miles,  twice,  to  see  me  with  reference  to  the 
matter,  I  concluded  to  accommodate  the  Professor, 
and  was  on  hand  when  my  name  was  called. 

"  Having,  from  reading  the  military  history  of 
mankind,  learned  the  important  principle,  that  the 
most  successful  method  of  defending  your  territory 
against  an  enemy,  is  to  give  him  full  employment 
at  home,  I  did  not  wait  to  be  attacked,  but 
pitched,  head-foremost,  with  all  my  weight,  and 
that  was  over  two  hundred  pounds,  into  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith. 

"The  first  weak  point  which  I  rendered  it 
necessary  for  him  to  defend,  was  the  doctrine  of 
his  sect  on  the  subject  of  Regeneration.  It  is,  that 
'  none  will  ever  be  regenerated  but  the  elect that 


98 


MEMOIR  OF 


'every  one,  so  regenerated,  will  ultimately  be 
saved  ; '  that,  '  in  regeneration,  the  Holy  Spirit 
operates  upon  the  spirit  of  man  somewhat  after 
the  manner  of  electricity,  without  the  intervention 
of  truth;'  that  'he  can  have  no  faith  until  this 
operation  takes  place  ; '  that  '  it,  of  course,  depends 
upon  another  ; '  and  yet  that  '  he  is  commanded  to 
believe,  and  will  be  eternally  damned  if  he  does  not.' 

"He  found  it  difficult,  before  a  promiscuous, 
popular  assembly,  to  maintain  these  positions.  To 
divert  attention,  somewhat,  from  the  subject  in 
hand,  he  proposed  to  me  '  to  enter  upon  a  wide 
field  of  Greek  criticism  with  him.'  I  replied  that 
'  I  was  addressing  an  English  audience,  and  wished 
them  to  understand  all  that  I  said.  I  therefore 
chose  the  English  language  as  the  medium  through 
which  I  would  communicate  my  thoughts ;  but 
that,  if  he  was  not  satisfied  with  this  arrange- 
ment, I  was  willing,  after  we  had  concluded  the 
argument  in  our  mother  tongue,  to  have  a  learned 
Greek  committee  appointed,  and  wade  into  the 
Greek  with  him  up  to  the  knees,  or  even  to  the  chin.' 

"The  next  topic  that  occupied  our  attention, 
was  '  The  Design  of  Baptism.'  Here,  again,  acting 
on  the  offensive,  I  brought  forward  the  doctrine 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


99 


of  his  party,  as  taught  in  their  confession  of 
faith,  that  '  baptism  is  a  sacrament  of  the  New 
Testament,  wherein  Christ  hath  ordained  the 
washing  with  water,  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  be  a  sign 
and  seal  of  engrafting  into  Himself,  of  remission 
of  sins  by  His  blood,  and  regeneration  by  His 
Spirit,  of  adoption  and  resurrection  into  eternal 
life  ;  and  whereby  the  parties  baptized  are  solemnly 
admitted  into  the  visible  church,  and  enter  into 
an  open  and  professed  engagement  to  be  wholly 
and  only  the  Lord's.' 

" '  Now  how,'  I  argued,  '  is  baptism  a  sign  that 
our  sins  are  pardoned,  that  we  are  engrafted  into 
Christ,  that  we  are  born  again,  that  we  are  adopted 
into  God's  family,  that  we  have  risen  to.  a  new 
life?  unless  it  be  that,  in  enumerating  the  condi- 
tions on  which  these  advantages  may  be  secured, 
the  Divine  Author  of  the  New  Testament  has 
placed  baptism  last  on  the  list,  so  that  when  it  is 
complied  with,  it,  to  use  unscriptural  and  absurd 
language,  may  be  considered  a  sign  that  all  the 
antecedent  conditions  have  been  fully  met,  and 
that  the  obedient  believer  is  in  the  enjoyment  of 
all  the  priceless"  benefits  specified. 
7 


IOO 


MEMOIR  OF 


'"Let  us  now  attend  to  the  word  seal.  Mr. 
Webster  says  it  means  to  confirm,  complete,  give 
assurance.  Now  what  is  our  doctrine  with  refer- 
ence to  the  design  of  baptism  ?  It  is  that,  when 
we  believe  on  Christ,  love  him,  cordially  accept 
of  him  as  our  Prophet,  High-priest,  and  King,  and 
confess  him  with  the  mouth,  baptism  perfects  the 
union  between  him  and  us  ;  illustrated,  in  the 
New  Testament,  by  that  between  the  vine  and  its 
branches,  the  husband  and  wife,  the  head  and  the 
other  members  of  the  body.  If  they  use  the  word 
seal  in  its  ordinary  acceptation,  then,  wherein  does 
their  doctrine  essentially  differ  from  that  which 
they  so  virulently  oppose  ?  But  if  they  use  it  in 
the  New  Testament  sense,  they  make  more  of 
the  water  of  baptism  than  we  do  ;  actually  sub- 
stituting it  for  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  whom  only  we 
are  anointed  and  scaled.' 

"  Under  the  influence  of  this  kind  of  reasoning, 
which  deeply  enlisted  the  sympathy  of  the  audi- 
ence, my  opponent  became  perplexed  and  irri- 
tated. Entertaining  an  exalted  opinion  of  his  own 
attainments  and  ability,  he  had  expected  an  easy 
victor}',  and  was  not  at  all  prepared  for  defeat. 
Failing  in  argument,  he  endeavore'd  to  make  up 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jit. 


IOI 


the  deficiency  by  abuse,  bestowing  upon  our 
people  all  the  hard  names  he  could  muster,  and 
upon  me,  in  particular,  the  somewhat  compli- 
mentary title  of  Goliath. 

"  Not  wishing  to  appear  deficient  in  civility, 
especially  on  so  public  an  occasion,  I  recognized 
him  by  the  rather  fanciful  and  euphonious  style  of 
'the  beautiful,  little,  ruddy  David.'  As  he  was 
very  dark  and  ugly,  this  stirred  up  his  rage  until 
he  trembled,  which  only  rendered  his  discomfiture 
the  more  conspicuous.  His  own  aunt  told  him 
'  he  was  beaten — the  worst  beaten  man  she  ever 
saw.'  Our  own  people  enjoyed  their  triumph 
exceedingly." 


102 


MEMOIR  OF 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Great  Meeting  at  Versailles — One  hundred  and  forty  Conversions — 
The  Baptismal  Scene— Visit  to  Missouri — Family  Devotion. 

N  A.  D.  1835,  I  continued  to  preach 
through  Fayette  and  the  contiguous 
counties,  as  I  had  done  since  my  mar- 
riage in  183 1.  To  nieet  my  expenses,  I  was  still 
under  the  necessity  of  cultivating  a  farm.  The 
most  notable  event  of  my  life,  during  that  year, 
was  a  ten  days'  meeting,  held  by  Brother  John  T. 
Johnson  and  myself,  in  the  month  of  September, 
at  Versailles,  in  Woodford  County.  During  its 
continuance  one  hundred  and  forty  persons  con- 
fessed with  '  their  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus/  and  were 
'  baptized  for  the  remission  of  their  'sins.'  I  bap- 
tized them  in  the  Kentucky  River,  at  Sublett's 
Ferry,  six  miles  from  Versailles.  The  day  on 
which  the  baptism  took  place  was  bright  and  com- 


JACOB  CREA  TIT,  Jr. 


fortable.  The  roads  were  excellent.  The  river 
was  clear  as  crystal.  The  water  was  warm,  and 
the  bottom  was  covered  with  sand  and  gravel.  Its 
banks,  up  and  down  for  some  distance,  were  lined 
with  deeply  interested  spectators.  The  roads 
leading  to  it  were  crowded  with  wagons,  carts, 
carriages,  horsemen,  and  footmen  pressing  forward 
to  witness  the  sublime  spectacle. 

"Does  not  the  intense  interest  with  which  such 
baptisms  are  ever  regarded,  indicate  that  they  are 
the  God-originated  method  of  introducing  human 
beings  into  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  ?  People 
do  not  thus  rush  from  large  scopes  of  country  to 
see  a  little  water  poured  or  sprinkled  upon  their 
fellow-beings,  even  though  it  may  be  done  by  a 
regularly-ordained  administrator,  in  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

"Only  one  incident  occurred  to  mar  the  pleas- 
ure of  our  meeting.  James  Long,  a  Calvinistic 
Baptist  of  that  vicinity,  claimed  that  a  preacher 
of  his  order,  by  the  name  of  Tabor,  had  an  ap- 
pointment to  speak  in  our  house  of  worship  dur- 
ing the  time  of  our  protracted  services. 

"  No  one  but  himself  seemed  to  know  any  thing 


104 


MEMOIR  OF 


about  it.  We  endeavored  to  persuade  Tabor  to 
postpone  his  oration  ;  but  he  became  so  abusive 
and  boisterous,  that  we  concluded  to  yield  to 
him,  although  we  felt  assured  that  his  main  object 
was  to  pour  cold  water  on  the  fire  which  we  had 
kindled. 

"  The  leading  thought  of  his  discourse  was,  that 
'the  Holy  Spirit  entered  the  sinner's  heart  before 
knowledge,  failh,  repentance,  or  obedience.'  He 
was  coarse  and  ignorant.  While  he  was  speaking, 
I  asked  Brother  Johnson  if  I  might  'follow  him.' 
He  answered,  'Yes!  and  welcome!'  After  mak- 
ing some  remarks  to  exhibit  the  absurd  and  un- 
scriptural  character  of  his  expose,  I  delivered  a 
warm  exhortation.  At  its  close,  sixteen  persons 
walked  up,  and  confessed  the  Saviour. 

"  My  uncle  Jacob  d  eath  was  present,  and  min- 
gled his  tears  of  joy  with  ours.  This  was  the 
most  delightful  meeting  I  ever  attended.  I  never 
expect  to  realize  a  higher  degree  of  happiness  on 
this  side  of  heaven  than  I  then  enjoyed. 

"In  August,  1836,  in  company  with  Brother 
Johnson,  I  visited  Georgetown,  Warsaw,  and 
Ghent.  At  the  last-mentioned  place  we  made  a 
number  of  converts. 


JACOB  CHEAT II,  Jr. 


"In  May,  1837,  I  visited  Missouri,  to  see  the 
country,  intending,  if  I  was  pleased,  to  emigrate 
to  it  in  the  fall.  Previous  to  my  departure  from 
home;  I  planted  my  corn-crop  ;  from  which,  in  the 
appropriate  season,  I  realized  four  thousand  bush- 
els. During  the  same  year,  I  sold  seventeen  hun- 
dred dollars'  worth  of  live  stock.  Robert  Wicklift" 
sen.,  on  one  occasion,  remarked  that,  '  in  propor- 
tion to  means,  I  was  the  most  successful  farmer 
in  Fayette  County.' 

"  I  will  here  introduce  another  subject  that  is 
of  pre-eminent  importance  in  the  history  of  my 
life  ;  that  is,  family  devotion.  We  have  been  in 
the  habit,  as  a  family,  ever  since  we  have  existed 
as  such,  of  worshiping  our  Creator  morning  and 
evening,  by  reading  his  Word,  and  offering  to  him 
the  incense  of  prayer  and  thanksgiving  and  praise. 

"When  my  children  became  old  enough,  each 
of  us  read  a  verse  in  rotation,  until  we  had  fin- 
ished the  lesson  of  the  hour.  When  I  was  from 
home,  my  wife  acted  as  the  priestess  of  the  family 
in  presenting  their  spiritual  sacrifices  to  Jehovah. 
We  read  the  Bible  through  in  course,  and  had 
completed  that  delightful  series  of  lessons  ten 
times  while  my  children  were  with  me. 


io6 


MEMOIR  OF 


"  I  have  long  been  in  the  habit,  for  my  own  im- 
provement, of  reading  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis 
on  the  first  day  of  every  January,  and  of  reaching 
the  last  verse  in  the  book  of  Revelation  by  the 
time  that  old  mother  Terra  had  finished  her  an- 
nual round.  Acting  upon  this  plan,  I  have  read 
the  whole  divine  book  through  more  than  fifty 
times. 

"  In  the  dark  hours  of  affliction  and  sorrow  we 
worshiped  God,  as  a  family,  three  times  a  day. 
'Evening  and  morning,  and  at  noon,'  said  the 
sweet  singer  of  Israel,  '  will  I  pray  and  cry  aloud ; 
and  He  will  hear  my  voice.'  At  the  risk  of  his  life, 
with  his  window  open  toward  the  Holy  of  Holies, 
where  God  dwelt  in  the  thick  darkness,  between 
the  cherubim,  at  Jerusalem,  Daniel  '  knelt  upon 
his  knees  three  times  a  day,  and  prayed,  and  gave 
thanks  before  his  God,  as  he  did  aforetime!  All 
the  persons  who  ever  were  members  of  my  house- 
hold for  more  than  one  year,  with  one  or  two  ex- 
ceptions, professed  conversion.  All  the  servants 
whom  I  ever  controlled,  but  one,  I  baptized.  I 
never  permitted  any  one  connected  with  my  farm 
to  '  take'  God's  'name  in  vain.' 


JACOB  VREATH,  Jb. 


107 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Fears  entertained  lest  "  Campbellism  "  should  take  the  Country — 
Elder  Creath's  Lady  thrown  from  her  Horse,  and  permanently 
injured — Visit  from  a  Sister-in-law,  not  much  to  her  Credit — 
Important  Episode — Bad  Treatment  from  H.  Foster. 


N  August,  1837,  Brother  Johnson  and  I 
held  a  meeting  at  Hind's  Creek,  in  Mad- 
ison County,  not  far  from  Clay's  Ferry,  at 
which  about  seventy  persons  confessed  faith  in,  and 
love  for,  the  Saviour.  Many  of  them  were  persons 
of  high  social  position.  Among  others  I  might 
mention  Colonel  Jones,  Samuel  Stone,  Dr.  Jacob 
White,  and  Captain  Richardson.  Three  of  them 
I  baptized  in  the  Kentucky  River.  The  sectarians 
were  alarmed.  They  thought  that  '  Campbellism  1 
was  about  to  ruin  them  ! 

"The  year  1838  was,  to  me,  one  of  great 
trouble.  My  wife  was  thrown  from  her  horse,  a 
short  time  before  the  birth  of  my  only  son,  and 


io8 


MEMOIR  OF 


was  permanently  injured.  She  was  confined  to 
her  bed,  the  most  of  the  time  afterward,  until  she 
died.  Her  child  was  delicate  ;  had  to  be  fed  from 
a  bottle  ;  and,  for  a  long  time,  was  not  expected 
to  live. 

"In  the  summer  of  1839,  we  made  known  our 
intention  of  removing  to  Missouri  in  the  fall.  I 
thought  that,  by  so  doing,  I  would  improve  my 
worldly  condition,  and  enlarge  the  sphere  of  my 
usefulness.  In  addition  to  these  considerations, 
my  wife  never  expected  to  recover  her  health,  and 
desired  to  die  at  her  father's  house,  surrounded 
by  her  brothers  and  sisters. 

"Under  these  circumstances,  a  sister  of  my 
wife's  former  husband  paid  her  a  visit,  professedly 
of  condolence,  but,  in  reality,  with  the  deep  design 
of  luring  from  us  my  step-son,  Sidney  Bedford, 
so  that  if  his  mother  died,  his  property,  which 
was  very  considerable,  might  go  to  her  and  his 
other  relatives  by  the  father's  side. 

"  In  making  this  apparently  severe  remark,  I  do 
the  lady  no  injustice,  inasmuch  as  she  openly 
avowed  her  design  before  we  separated,  pleading 
with  us,  most  earnestly,  to  let  her  have  him. 

"  My  wife  responded  '  No,'  decidedly,  remarking 


JACOB  CRF.ATH,  Jr. 


109 


that,  '  in  case  of  her  death,  she  wished  me  to 
retain  and  educate  him  ;'  and  that  'if  he  too  should 
die,  before  he  became  of  age,  it  was  her  dying 
request  that  her  property  and  his  should  descend 
to  her  children  by  me — they  were  his  and  her 
nearest  and  dearest  relatives.' 

"  My  wife's  father,  Thomas  Price,  and  family, 
removed  to  Missouri  in  the  fall  of  1835.  In 
October,  1839,  her  brother,  James  Price,  came  to 
Kentucky,  with  the  view  of  aiding  us  in  the 
laborous  operation  of  also  migrating  thither. 

"  My  sale  of  all  disposable  property  was  adver- 
tised to  take  place  on  the  twenty-second  of  that 
month.  And  that  my  sick  wife  might  not  be 
annoyed  by  the  excitement,  and  noise,  and  confu- 
sion invariably  incidental  to  an  occasion  of  the 
kind,  I  started  her  and  the  wagons,  under  the  care 
of  her  brother,  a  day  or  two  in  advance,  knowing 
that,  on  horseback,  after  the  sale  was  over,  I 
could  easily  overtake  them. 

"  The  sale  took  place  at  the  time  appointed  ; 
and  after  it  was  over  three  of  my  neighbors,  viz : 
Charles  Robinson,  B.  A.  Hicks,  and  Henry  Foster, 
accompanied  me,  part  of  the  way,  on  my  journey 
to  Missouri. 


I  IO 


MEMOIR  OF 


"  And  now,  dear  reader,  be  so  kind  as  to  indulge 
an  old  man,  who  desires  to  be  respected  by  you 
and  your  children,  with  the  privilege  of  intro- 
ducing a  little  episode. 

"Sidney  Bedford,  sen.,  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
was  the  owner  of  some  land,  in  Bourbon  County, 
Ky.,  some  slaves,  and  other  personal  property. 
This  descended  to  his  son,  and  my  step-son,  Sidney 
Bedford,  subject  to  the  dower  of  his  mother. 
Thomas  Price,  his  grandfather  by  the  mother's 
side,  was  appointed  his  guardian,  by  the  Probate 
Court  of  Bourbon  County. 

"In  November,  1831,  the  same  court  conferred 
that  position  on  me.  I  gave  the  usual  bond 
required  in  such  cases,  with  my  father-in-law, 
Thomas  Price,  Henry  Foster,  and  Thomas  Matson, 
as  my  sureties.  The  penalty  annexed  to  the 
bond  was  ten  thousand  dollars. 

"  In  1833  I  had  my  first  settlement,  as  guardian, 
with  the  commissioners  appointed  by  the  court 
for  that  purpose:  charging  myself  with  all  the 
bonds,  notes,  and  money  which  thus  fell  into  my 
hands.  In  consequence  of  Thomas  Matson's 
death,  I  gave  an  additional  bond,  with  Mason 
Talbot  as  counter-security. 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


1 1 1 


"  As  my  ward  and  myself  both  lived  in  Fayette 
County,  for  the  sake  of  greater  convenience  in 
making  my  settlements,  I  was  appointed  to  the 
same  position  by  the  Probate  Court  of  that  county, 
giving  bond,  with  Thomas  Price  and  George  W. 
Clark  as  my  sureties.  In  1832,  Wm.  Ellis,  sen., 
Wm.  Ellis,  jr.,  and  Henry  Foster  were  appointed 
commissioners,  by  the  same  authority,  to  allot  my 
wife  her  dower,  which  they  did. 

"From  A.  D.  183 1  to  A.  D.  1839,  I  resided  in 
Fayette  County,  and,  as  guardian,  made  annual 
settlements,  which  are  all  recorded  in  Lexing- 
ton, Ky. 

"Previous  to  my  sale  I  had  promised  H.  Foster, 
in  compliance  with  his  urgent  request,  that  I 
would  furnish  him,  on  that  occasion,  additional 
counter-security.  I  made  this  promise  to  him 
from  the  full  assurance  that  B.  A.  Hicks  and 
Wm.  Ellis,  sen.,  men  in  whose  friendship  I  had 
unbounded  confidence,  would  cheerfully  place 
themselves  in  such  a  relationship  to  me,  more 
especially  as  they  had  pledged  their  word  that 
they  would  do  so. 

"  They  failed  to  meet  my  reasonable  expectations, 
and  their  own  engagement.    I  had  not  time  then 


112 


MEMOIR  OF 


to  make  other  arrangements,  but  felt  compelled  to 
follow  my  afflicted  wife,  with  the  full  intention, 
cherished  and  expressed,  of  making  the  matter 
perfectly  satisfactory  to  him  as  soon  as  I  had 
committed  her  to  the  care  of  her  friends  in 
Missouri,  and  had  a  little  time  to  look  around 
and  secure  the  requisite  assistance  of  friends  for 
that  purpose. 

"  P"oster,  however,  disregarding  what  was  fair 
and  kind,  immediately  swore  out  an  attachment 
against  me,  and  bound  up  in  the  hands  of  gar- 
nishees the  sum  of  $1,609.84,  due  me  from 
different  persons  who  had  purchased  property  at 
my  sale. 

"This  he  never  released,  until  I  offered  him 
security  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  and  then  did  so  very  ungraciously. 

"  Had  his  malice  proceeded  no  further  than  this, 
it  would  have  been  to  me  a  matter  of  but  little 
consequence.  Indeed,  upon  the  whole,  it  might 
have  been  favorable  to  my  happiness,  from  the 
opportunity  which  it  afforded  to  test  the  gener- 
osity of  noble-hearted  friends,  who  were  willing  to 
indorse  for  me  to  such  an  amount. 

"  But  it  did  not  stop  here.    Reports  of  the  most 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jit. 


113 


unfavorable  character  were  circulated  against  me — 
such  as  that  '  I  intended  to  defraud  my  sureties/ 
that  'we  stole  away  in  the  night,'  etc.,  etc.,  etc., 
'  ad  infinitum.'  " 


ii4 


MEMOIR  OF 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Elder  Creath  gives  vent  to  his  Indignation  in  a  Pamphlet— This 
call  forth  a  vindictive  one  from  the  other  side — The  Matter 
looms  up  into  a  serious  difficulty — Brother  Campbell's  Decis- 
ion with  reference  to  it. 


HE  best  course  for  me  to  have  pursued, 
with  reference  to  them,  would  have  been 
to  imitate  the  example  of  our  Saviour, 
'  who,  when  he  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again  ; 
when  he  suffered  he  threatened  not  ;  but  com- 
mitted himself  to  the  care  of  Him  who  judgeth 
righteously.'  My  previous  character  and  subse- 
quent conduct  would  soon  have  put  to  silence  all 
such  false  accusations. 

"  Who  now  believes  that  the  Son  of  God  '  had  a 
devil,'  or  'was  mad'?  Who  believes  that  'he  cast 
out  devils  by  Beelzebub  the  prince  of  devils'?  or 
that  'he  deceived  the  people,'  or  was  'a  wine- 
bibber'?    No  one  but  the  pitiful  infidel,  who  is 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


"5 


either  grossly  ignorant  or  lacks  the  understanding 
requisite  to  appreciate  an  argument. 

"  But,  alas !  I  fell  far  short  of  this  glorious 
model.  Galled  by  Foster's  unfeeling  conduct,  by 
family  affliction,  and  by  'the  pains  and  penalties' 
connected  with  a  limited  income,  and  having 
nothing  to  '  fall  back  upon '  but  my  character,  I 
gave  vent  to  my  indignation  in  a  pamphlet,  pub- 
lished at  Palmyra,  Missouri,  entitled  'A  History 
of  Facts  in  relation  to  the  Conduct  of  Henry  Fos- 
ter, of  Fayette  County,  Kentucky,  from  the  year 
1 83 1  to  A.  D.  1840;  by  Jacob  Creath,  jr.,  of  Mon- 
ticello,  Lewis  County,  Missouri.' 

"  This,  as  might  have  been  anticipated,  called 
forth  a  vindictive  publication  on  the  other  side, 
styled  '  An  Address  to  the  Brethren,  by  the  Church 
at  David's  Fork,  per  answer  to  "A  History  of 
Facts  in  relation  to  the  Conduct  of  Henry  Foster, 
by  Jacob  Creath,  jr."'  Of  this  church  Foster  was 
an  elder,  and  it  was  at  his  instigation  that  the  doc- 
ument in  question  was  issued. 

"There  have  been  so  many  things  written  and 
spoken  with  regard  to  these  transactions,  that  your 
patience,  polite  reader,  would  be  quite  exhausted  by 
even  a  brief  rehearsal  of  them.  I  take  no  delight  in 
8 


n6 


MEMOIR  OF 


repeating  them,  except  for  the  purpose  of  endeavor- 
ing to  preserve  my  own  good  name  untarnished. 

"  I  cherish  no  desire  to  inflict  injury  upon  the 
guilty  parties  connected  with  them.  In  the  '  un- 
pleasantness' between  us,  they  were  defeated  at 
the  bar  of  every  court  to  which  they  appealed  ; 
and  as  all  that  I  would  say  might  be  regarded  as 
a  mere  ex  parte  statement  of  the  case,  I  beg  leave 
to  invite  your  attention  to  the  decisions  of  other 
minds  respecting  it. 

"We  will  first  introduce  Brother  Alexander 
Campbell,  to  whom  the  whole  difficulty  was  re- 
ferred by  both  parties,  with  the  express  under- 
standing that  his  judgment  should  be  final.  That 
is  contained  in  a  letter  addressed  to  my  uncle 
Jacob  Creath,  the  original  of  which  is  in  my  pos- 
session. 

" '  Steamboat  Alleghany,  Dec.  8,  1845. 
"  •  Elder  Jacob  Creath  : 

'"  My  Dear  Brother — I  have  just  risen  from  read- 
ing, with  mingled  emotions  of  grief,  mortification, 
and  reprobation,  certain  pamphlets,  printed  and 
published  as  follows:  one  entitled  "A  History  of 
Facts  in  relation  to  the  Conduct  of  Henry  Foster, 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jr. 


II7 


of  Fayette  County,  Kentucky,  from  the  year  1831 
to  1840;  by  Jacob  Creath,  jr.,  of  Monticello,  Lewis 
County,  Missouri,"  dated  December  1,  1840,  and 
printed  at  the  office  of  the  "  Missouri  Courier,  Pal- 
myra;"  also  one  entitled  "An  Address  to  the 
Brethren,  by  the  Church  at  David's  Fork,  per  an- 
swer to  'A  History  of  Facts  in  relation  to  the 
Conduct  of  Henry  Foster,  by  Jacob  Creath,  jr.,' " 
printed  at  Lexington,  Kentucky,  "Intelligencer" 
office,  1 84 1  ;  and  one  called  "The  Report  of  a 
Committee,  called  at  the  request  of  the  Elders  of 
the  Christian  Congregation  in  Monticello,  from  the 
congregations  in  Houston  and  Palmyra,  to  inves- 
tigate 'An  Address*  purporting  to  be  written  by 
the  David's  Fork  Church,  in  Fayette  County,  Ken- 
tucky, against  Elder  Jacob  Creath,  jr." 

"'Waiving  all  allusion  to  the  literary,  moral, 
and  religious  character  of  these  productions,  or 
to  the  purity  or  impurity  of  the  motives  of  the 
authors  of  them,  I  regret  these  publications,  be- 
cause they  do  honor  to  no  one ;  because  they  do 
dishonor  to  the  cause  of  God  ;  because  they  mar  the 
peace  and  fellowship  of  the  brotherhood  to  some 
considerable  extent ;  and,  especially,  in  the  first 
incipiency  of  the  matter,  the  difficulty  ought  to 


n8 


MEMOIR  OF 


have  been  settled  before  the  crsis  which  com- 
pelled Brother  Creath  to  leave  Kentucky. 

" '  I  think,  also,  that  Brother  H.  Foster  was 
righteous  or  rigorous  overmuch,  in  demanding 
from  Brother  Creath  such  a  release,  especially 
from  one  who  had  stood  so  long  in  the  relations 
which  he  had  so  acceptably  sustained  to  himself, 
to  the  church,  and  to  the  world  ;  and  still  more, 
under  all  the  circumstances  in  which  Brother 
Creath  was  placed  by  afflictions  and  difficulties. 

" '  If  oppression  will  make  a  wise  man  mad,  it 
appears  to  me  that  a  man  of  Brother  Creath's 
temperament  and  feelings,  endeavoring,  as  he  un- 
doubtedly did,  to  satisfy  what  he  regarded  the 
unkind  and  exorbitant  demands  of  a  Christian 
brother  and  elder,  in  the  midst  of  such  straits  and 
embarrassments,  when  affection  for  his  wife  and 
children,  and  sympathy  for  her  condition  and 
them,  were  dragging  him  on  the  one  hand,  and 
those  from  whom  he  expected  sympathy  and  as- 
sistance were  abandoning  him  on  the  other  hand, 
could  do  neither  less  nor  more  than  what  he  did. 

"'And  if  failure  there  was  in  any  thing,  which 
either  the  fears  of  pecuniary  loss  might  demand, 
or  alienated  affection  might  extort  from  him,  on 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


Iio 


the  part  of  Elder  Foster,  it  ought,  on  all  the  prin- 
ciples of  Christianity  and  humanity,  to  have  been 
sought  at  some  other  time,  and  in  some  other 
way. 

"'As  little  as  I  approve  of  either  the  spirit  or 
the  style  of  the  publications  which  have  appeared 
on  the  occasion,  I  think  Brother  Creath  ought  not 
to  have  printed  and  circulated  his  "  History  of 
Facts"  in  the  case.  And  if  any  thing  might  have 
called  for  a  printed  expose,  it  ought  to  have  been 
in  a  style  more  consonant  to  the  genius  and  spirit 
of  the  Christian  religion. 

" '  Still  less  can  I  justify  a  pamphlet  so  infor- 
mally got  up,  and  yet  purporting  to  be  a  public 
"Address"  from  a  church  of  Christ,  whose  grand 
object  appears  to  be  the  dishonor  of  the  character 
of  a  Christian  minister  whose  talents  and  services 
in  the  cause  were  public  property  of  great  value  ; 
and  who  strained  every  nerve  to  obtain  the  secu- 
rity to  relieve  Elder  Foster  from  his  personal  re- 
sponsibility, even,  too,  when  it  appears  to  me  he 
was  made  perfectly  safe. 

" '  But  worse  than  all,  the  attempt  to  force  upon 
him  the  character  of  stealthily  running  away  from 
dfficulties  which  he  had,  to  the  last  moment,  sought 


120 


MEMOIR  OF 


and  expected  to  have  satisfactorily  adjusted,  is 
most  of  all  to  be  reprobated. 

"'On  a  candid  and  impartial  review  of  all  that 
that  has  been  said  and  done,  and  especially  on 
gravely  weighing  the  providential  decision  of  the 
case,  in  finally  removing  an  individual,  in  reference 
to  whose  pecuniary  interests  much  of  the  suspi- 
cionings  and  evil  forebodings  productive  of  this 
unfortunate  issue  of  affairs  originated,  I  should 
think  it  would  be  due  to  the  brotherhood  in  gen- 
eral, to  the  cause  of  religion,  and  to  the  character 
of  Brother  Jacob  Creath,  jr.,  that  there  should  be, 
on  the  part  of  Elder  Foster  and  the  brethren  acting 
with  him,  a  withdrawal  of  any  imputation  against 
the  moral  and  Christian  standing  of  Brother  Jacob 
Creath  in  these  affairs,  which  might  diminish  in 
any  way  his  power  of  doing  good,  either  in  Ken- 
tucky or  Missouri. 

"  '  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  say  to  you,  Father  Creath, 
on  all  the  premises,  especially  since  what  I  have 
observed  in  my  late  tour  in  Missouri,  that  you 
should  make  an  effort  to  obtain  from  those  breth- 
ren such  a  statement  as  both  justice  and  truth  de- 
mand in  this  case,  and  send  it  to  our  common 
friend  and  brother,  whose  feelings  have  been  so 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


121 


much  wounded,  and  whose  reputation  and  that  of 
the  cause  have  suffered  in  this  affair. 

" '  The  most  of  this  communication  I  wrote  on 
the  steamboat,  returning  from  Missouri ;  but  de- 
siring to  examine  some  documents,  at  home,  in  my 
possession,  and  being  disappointed  in  not  finding 
them  all,  have  been  causes  why  I  have  been  pre- 
vented from  finishing  this  communication  until 
now. 

"'Please  endeavor  to  have  the  matter  settled 
soon,  and  let  peace  and  harmony  be  universally 
restored.  Brother  Creath  is  willing  to  acknowl- 
edge, indeed,  he  has  voluntarily  acknowledged  to 
me,  that  he  has  both  said  and  written  what  he 
ought  not,  as  a  Christian  minister,  to  have  said 
and  written  ;  but  through  the  violence  of  the  cir- 
cumstances was  led  into  error. 

"  'With  much  sincere  and  constant  affection  and 
esteem,  I  remain,  as  ever,  yours  in  the  one  hope. 

'"A.  Campbell.' 

"  Four  months  and  twelve  days  after  the  above 
was  penned,  Brother  Campbell  addressed  another 
letter  to  my  uncle  on  the  same  subject.  Its  con- 
tents are  as  follows  : 


122 


MEMOIR  OF 


"'Bethany,  Brooke  Co.,  Va.,  April  20,  1846. 

"  '  Dear  Brother  Creath  : — After  paying  all 
the  attention  to  this  case,  which  it  is  possible  for 
me  to  bestow  on  all  the  circumstances  of  any  case 
on  my  immense  file  of  documents,  which,  indeed, 
is  now  like  the  docket  of  the  court  of  chancery, 
some  ten  years  behind  the  age,  I  must  state  to 
you  the  summary  view  of  the  matters  communi- 
cated in  my  last,  to  which  I  am  compelled  by  all 
the  evidence  in  the  case,  printed,  and  written,  and 
oral,  before  me. 

" '  The  church  at  David's  Fork  should  recall  the 
libel  published  against  Jacob  Creath,  jr.,  by  giving 
him  a  writing  to  that  effect.  And  the  said  church 
should  also  cause  his  land,  as  well  as  his  character, 
to  be  released  from  all  liability,  alleged  at  the  time 
in  justification  of  such  a  measure. 

" '  This  seems  due  to  his  character,  from  all  that 
has  been  laid  before  me,  in  the  printed  documents 
of  the  case,  and  from  the  representations  made  to 
me  by  either  party,  and  from  the  providential 
issue  to  which  the  case  has  been  brought.  It  is 
possible  for  communities  and  individuals  to  err  in 
judgment  and  in  heart.    And  in  either  case,  to 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


123 


the  injured  party,  when  the  matter  is  fully  devel- 
oped, a  redress  of  the  wrong  should  be  made 

" '  I  did  not  press  the  matter  upon  the  attention 
of  those  brethren,  immediately,  after  my  inter- 
view with  Brother  Jacob  Creath,  jr.  I  read  the 
pamphlets,  made  my  notes  on  the  river,  and  have 
suffered  myself  calmly  to  review  all  the  alleged 
circumstances  of  the  case,  and  therefore  advise 
these  brethren  to  reconsider  this  matter,  and  to 
prevent  any  necessity  of  any  farther  exposure  of  a 
case  which  has  brought  no  honor  to  any  one,  but 
to  the  cause  of  the  gospel  and  its  friends  a  great 
injury,  by  a  timely  redress  of  all  the  wrongs  done 
in  the  case  to  a  brother,  whose  reputation  and 
good  fame  are  public  property  in  which  we  are  all 
deeply  interested. 

"  '  With  every  sentiment  of  Christian  regard  and 
affection,  I  remain  yours  in  the  hope  of  rest, 

"'A.  Campbell."  ' 


124 


MEMOIR  OF 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


The  Testimony  of  George  W.  Williams,  John  T.  Johnson,  and 
Samuel  A.  Young. 


reader  becomes  cloyed  with  it,  and  turns  away  in 
disgust.  Besides,  it  bears,  too,  to  some  extent,  the 
aspect  of  compulsion,  as  though  we  were  deter- 
mined to  make  people  believe  something,  whether 
they  were  willing  or  not.  In  such  cases,  the  sons 
of  men  (shall  I  not  say  the  daughters,  too  ?)  are 
disposed  to  pull  the  other  way. 

"  In  addition  to  this  consideration,  we  are  in 
danger,  in  such  a  case,  of  leaving  the  impression 
that  it  is  a  bad  one,  otherwise  we  would  not  deem 
it  necessary  to  bolster  it  up  with  so  much  testi- 
mony.  I  would  be  pleased,  in  the  present  instance, 


AM  aware  of  the  characteristic  of  human 
nature,  that  too  much  evidence  has,  some- 
times, the  same  effect  as  too  little.  The 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


i-5 


as  in  all  others,  to  come  as  near  as  possible  striking 
the  happy  medium.    '  In  media  tutissimus  ibis.' 

"  Any  addition  to,  or  subtraction  from,  the  deci- 
sion of  Brother  Campbell,  with  reference  to  the 
subject  in  hand,  would  seem  to  me  a  little  like  tam- 
pering with  a  judgment  of  the  Supreme  Court.  But 
in  the  law  of  Moses  it  is  written,  '  One  witness 
shall  not  rise  up  against  a  man  for  any  iniquity,  or 
for  any  sin,  in  any  sin  that  he  sinneth  ;  at  the 
mouth  of  two  witnesses,  or  at  the  mouth  of  three 
witnesses,  shall  the  matter  be  established.' — Deut. 
xix.  15. 

"Viewing  the  matter  from  this  standpoint,  I 
will  trespass  on  the  reader's  polite  attention  by 
introducing  two  or  three  more  witnesses. 

'"  The  testimony  of  George  W.  Williams,  Paris, 
Bourbon  County,  Ky.,  May  12,  1856: 

" '  I  have  acted  for  Elder  Jacob  Creath,  as 
attorney  at  law,  in  the  management  of  the  estate 
of  Sidney  Bedford,  jr.,  who  was  his  ward,  so  far 
as  that  estate  was  in  Kentucky ;  also,  as  adminis- 
trator of  said  Sidney  Bedford,  deceased,  after  his 
death,  and  as  commissioner  in  the  sale  of  the 
land  that  descended  to  the  children  of  said  Jacob 


126 


MEMOIR  OF 


Creath,  upon  the  death  of  said  Sidney.  And,  I 
now  state,  that  in  all  my  dealings  and  transactions 
with  Elder  Creath,  I  have  found  him  to  be  correct 
and  honorable ;  and,  so  far  as  the  estate  of  Sidney 
Bedford  is  concerned,  in  all  that  I  know  of  his 
acts,  I  have  found  him  to  be  equally  so. 

'"George  W.  Williams.' 

"  Brother  John  T.  Johnson  thus  writes  to  me, 
after  his  visit  to  Missouri,  in  1843: 

"'Georgetown,  Ky.,  Oct.  20,  1843. 
'"Brother  Creath  : — I  have  received  your  last 
letter — being  the  third  with  the  pamphlets — and 
I  have  read  them  attentively.  My  mind  is  the 
same  as  when  I  wrote  to  Brother  Taffe.  My  con- 
fidence in  your  Christian  integrity  is  unshaken. 
This  being  the  case  with  myself,  I  have  no  desire 
to  investigate  the  case  farther.' 

"  The  statement  of  Samuel  A.  Young  is  as 
follows  : 

"  '  From  what  I  have  heard,  as  a  general  remark, 
and  read,  concerning  your  difficulties  with  H. 
Foster  and  the  David's  Fork  Church,  I  was  in- 
clined to  believe  that  you  had  acted  in  bad  faith 


JACOB  CREATIT,  Jr. 


127 


toward  your  ward,  and  particularly  with  your 
securities  ;  and  more  particularly  with  Foster,  who 
was  one  of  your  securities  in  your  fiduciary  bond. 

" '  I,  however,  at  the  particular  solicitation  of 
Beverly  A.  Hicks,  another  of  your  securities,  un- 
dertook your  defense,  and  gave  the  case,  in  all  its 
features,  a  thorough,  full,  and  minute  examination, 
and  I  feel  great  pleasure,  sir,  in  saying,  that  the 
result  of  my  examination  and  investigation,  was 
an  entire  revolution,  in  my  feelings  and  opinions, 
relative  to  your  conduct  as  guardian. 

Indeed,  I  can  safely  say,  I  have,  in  the  course 
of  my  professional  life,  had  occasion  to  examine 
the  settlements  of  very  many  estates,  and  I  have 
not  yet  seen  one  where  there  was  evidenced  more 
capacity  and  integrity,  on  the  part  of  the  fiduciary, 
in  the  conducting  of  a  trust,  than  you  have  shown 
in  the  case  of  your  ward. 

" '  I  beg  to  be  considered  your  friend,  sincerely, 
" '  Samuel  A.  Young.' 

"I  do  not  know  that  any  thing  additional  would 
add  to  the  weight  of  what  has  been  already  said 
on  this  subject.  If  I  thought  so,  it  should  be 
forthcoming.    For  I  am  fortified  with*  certificates 


128 


MEMOIR  OF 


from  my  brother-in-law,  James  Price,  on  whom  the 
position  of  guardian  was  conferred  soon  after  our 
arrival  in  Missouri,  and  who  is  as  honorable  a  man 
as  treads  the  soil  of  this  footstool  of  God  ;  and 
from  the  Christian  congregations  of  Monticello, 
Houston,  and  Palmyra,  convened  in  council,  by 
their  representatives ;  and,  also,  from  other  parties 
of  the  highest  respectability,  who  enjoyed  the 
opportunity  of  becoming  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  all  the  facts  of  the  case,  that,  as  regards  the 
property  which  has  been  the  innocent  occasion  of 
all  this  trouble,  my  hands  are  clean 


JACOB  CRKATH,  Jr. 


I29 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A  Year  of  great  Trouble— Death  of  Elder  Creath's  Wife — Her 
Character — Notice  of  his  Son,  William  W.  Creath — His  first 
Meeting  at  Hannibal. 


IN  A.  D.  1840,  I  removed  from  the  farm 
of  my  father-in-law,  near  Lagrange, 
Lewis  County,  Missouri,  to  that  of  my 
brother-in-law,  James  Price,  five  miles  north-west 
of  Monticello,  on  the  Fabius  River.  While  resid- 
ing there,  I  preached  in  Lewis,  Shelby,  Marion, 
and  Monroe  Counties. 

"In  May,  1840,  Brother  Levi  Hatchett  and  I 
held  a  meeting  at  Quincy,  Illinois,  at  which  we  had 
a  number  of  additions,  among  whom  Sister  Carlin, 
the  Governor's  wife,  might  be  mentioned. 

"  In  the  early  part  of  June,  1849,  I  preached  at 
St.  Francisville,  on  the  Desmoines  River.  On  the 
third  Lord's  day  of  the  same  month,  I  held  a  meet- 
ing at  Palmyra,  Missouri,  at  which  we  had  twenty 


130 


MEMOIR  OF 


confessions.  I  preached  in  the  Baptist  meeting- 
house. After  this,  owing  to  the  hostile  interfer- 
ence of  the  Rev.  (?)  Mr.  Vardeman,  we  were  under 
the  necessity  of  using  the  court-house  as  our  place 
of  worship.  This  we  continued  to  do  for  seven 
years,  when  our  number  had  increased  to  two  hun- 
dred, and  we  were,  consequently,  able  to  purchase 
a  lot,  and  build  a  house  of  our  own. 

"In  August,  1840,  B.  W.  Stone,  T.  M.-  Allen, 
M.  Wills,  and  I  held  a  meeting  six  miles  from 
Paris,  in  Monroe  County,  Missouri,  at  which  we 
had  many  additions.  In  the  month  of  October, 
this  same  year,  I  moved  into  the  town  of  Monti- 
cello,  for  the  purpose  of  educating  my  children, 
and  that  my  afflicted  wife  might  be  nearer  to  her 
physician. 

"In  that  place  I  gathered  together  a  large  con- 
gregation of  Christians,  who  afterward  built  a 
substantial  brick  meeting-house.  Three  other 
congregations  ultimately  grew  out  of  this. 

"  My  first  place  of  preaching  there  was  the  pri- 
vate dwelling-house  of  Brother  H.  Roberts.  We 
afterward  occupied  the  court-house,  until  our  own 
building  was  erected.  There  were  but  few  of  our 
brethren  in  Lewis  County,  when  I  first  made  it 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


my  home.  Now  we  have  four  or  five  congrega- 
tions, and  Christian  University. 

"A.  D.  1840  was  to  me  a  year  of  great  trouble. 
My  children  were  small,  and  my  wife  a  helpless, 
hopeless  invalid.  I  read  my  Bible,  and  called 
upon  God.  Whenever  I  could  leave  home  to  en- 
gage in  ministerial  labor,  it  was  crowned  with  the 
most  abundant  success. 

"In  1841,  I  continued  to  preach  in  Shelby  and 
Marion  Counties.  My  exertions  for  the  enlarge- 
ment of  Messiah's  kingdom  were  specially  blessed 
in  Shelbyville,  Palmyra,  and  Monticello.  When  I 
first  visited  Shelby  County,  it  contained  but  nine 
of  our  people.  When  it  ceased  to  be  a  portion 
of  my  field  of  labor,  it  contained  two  hundred. 
From  first  to  last,  over  two  hundred  were  added 
to  our  congregation  at  Palmyra ;  and  meeting- 
houses were  erected  at  Canton,  Lagrange,  Shelby- 
ville, and  other  places,  as  well  as  Palmyra  and 
Monticello. 

"In  1841,  I  met  with  a  sad  bereavement  in  the 
death  of  my  beloved  wife.  It  occurred  on  the  six- 
teenth of  July,  at  twenty-five  minutes  past  eleven 
o'clock,  P.  M.  She  died  of  consumption  at  the 
age  of  thirty-two  years,  eight  months,  and  nine 
9 


132 


MEMOIR  OF 


days.  She  was  born  in  Fayette  County,  Ken- 
tucky, eight  miles  from  Lexington. 

"  Her  father  afterward  removed  to  Lincoln 
County,  near  Walnut  Flat.  He  subsequently  re- 
turned to  his  old  neighborhood,  and  settled  on  the 
farm  of  her  maternal  grandfather.  There  she 
lived  when  I  married  her. 

"  During  her  last  illness  she  made  some  of  the 
most  eloquent  appeals  to  those  around  her,  with 
reference  to  their  immortal  interests,  to  which  I 
ever  listened.  I  was  leaning  over  her  when  she 
died  ;  as  I  raised  her  head  a  little,  she  exclaimed  : 
'Lord  Jesus!  why  canst  thou  not  bid  me  come  to 
thee  now?'  In  the  course  of  a  minute  or  two, 
with  a  smile  upon  her  countenance,  she  breathed 
her  last. 

"'Thou  art  gone  to  the  grave;  but  we  will  not  deplore  thee, 
Though  sorrows  and  darkness  encompass  the  tomb. 
The  Saviour  has  passed  through  its  portals  before  thee, 

And  the  lamp  of  his  love  was  thy  guide  through  the  gloom. 

'Thou  art  gone  to  the  grave;  we  no  longer  behold  thee; 
Nor  tread  the  rough  paths  of  the  world  by  thy  side; 
But  the  wide  arms  of  Mercy  were  spread  to  enfold  thee, 
And  sinners  may  hope,  since  the  Sinless  has  died.' 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


133 


"  She  was  a  pure-hearted,  noble-minded  woman*; 
neat,  industrious,  and  economical  ;  a  good  wife,  a 
loving  mother,  an  indulgent  mistress.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1832,  upon  the  profession  of  her  faith  in  our 
Redeemer,  I  baptized  her  in  Richard  Child's  pond, 
in  Fayette  County,  Kentucky. 

"The  day  after  her  death,  accompanied  by  Dr. 
Martin,  Brother  Roberts,  and  Miss  Jane  Roberts, 
I  took  her  remains  to  Palmyra  ;  and,  in  accordance 
with  her  dying  request,  buried  them  under  a  cer- 
tain tree  in  the  garden  of  her  cousin,  Mrs.  Agnes 
Smith.  I  afterward  removed  them  to  my  lot  in 
the  cemetery,  placing  a  beautiful  stone,  with  an 
appropriate  inscription,  at  the  head  of  her  grave. 
There  she  sleeps,  side  by  side  with  our  beloved 
son,  William  W.  Creath,  suddenly  cut  down  by  the 
hand  of  lawless  violence,  in  the  bloom  of  life, 
handsome,  talented,  noble-hearted,  and  brave. 

"  In  the  latter  part  of  October,  I  changed  my 
place  of  residence  to  Palmyra,  and  continued  to 
preach  in  the  surrounding  counties.  I  planted 
our  churches  in  Hannibal,  New  London,  and  St. 
Louis. 

"  I  commenced  my  labors  in  Hannibal  in  the 
month  of  January,  1842.    The  weather  was  in- 


134 


MEMOIR  OF 


tensely  cold  ;  our  place  of  worship  was  an  old  log 
out-house,  with  no  seats,  no  fire-place,  and  a  loose 
puncheon  floor.  My  hearers  were  all  men  ;  and 
yet,  while  standing  and  hearing  'the  word,'  they 
trembled  with  cold,  like  aspen-leaves. 

"At  that  time  we  had  but  one  member  in  the 
town.  That  was  Sister  Bowen,  the  daughter  of 
Barton  W.  Stone,  who  inherited  a  large  portion  of 
her  father's  loveliness.  On  one  occasion,  in  Han- 
nibal, I  preached  in  the  lower  story  of  an  old 
house,  while  in  the  upper  part  of  it  they  were 
dancing  and  fiddling." 


JACOB  CHEAT U,  Jit. 


135 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

First  Acquaintance  with  his  pres'ent  Wife  —  A  Compliment  — 
McVicker  and  White  steal  his  Step-son  —  His  Uncle,  B.  F. 
Bedford,  institutes  Suit  for  his  Properly — Being  sent  away  by 
them,  he  dies. 

|N  the  latter  part  of  January,  1842,  I  was 
sent  for  to  preach  in  Jacksonville,  Illinois. 
Win.  Brown,  B.  W.  Stone,  John  T.  Jones, 
and  D.  P.  Henderson  were  my  co-laborers.  We 
continued  our  meeting  for  ten  days  or  two  weeks, 
and  had  a  number  of  conversions.  In  returning 
home,  while  crossing  '  the  Father  of  Waters,'  falsely' 
so  called,  in  a  small  skiff,  when  the  ice  was  run- 
ning, I  came  near  being  drowned  several  times. 

"  On  reaching  home,  I  found  that  one  of  my 
little  children  had  been,  for  some  days,  lying  at 
the  point  of  death  with  fever.  I  cried  unto  Jeho- 
vah. He  heard  me,  and  she  recovered.  The  same 
winter  I  preached  at  New   London,  Frankfort. 


136 


MEMOIR  OF 


Clarksville,  Paynesville,  Bowling  Green,  Louisiana, 
and  Ramsay's  Creek.  At  one  meeting  we  had 
thirty-five  additions. 

"I  first  saw  my  present  wife  at  Bowling  Green. 
Her  name  was  Mrs.  Prudence  Rogers.  We  were 
married  in  March,  1842.  The  ceremony  was  per- 
formed by  James  Campbell,  a  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian clergyman,  at  the  house  of  Ezra  Hunt, 
Esq.,  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  that  district. 

"  Mrs.  Hunt  remarked  to  me,  on  the  occasion, 
that  I  had  secured  the  most  precious  jewel  for  my 
children  that  I  could  have  obtained  in  the  State 
of  Missouri.  Extravagant  as  this  compliment 
seems,  an  acquaintance  of  twenty-five  years  has 
proved  it  true. 

"On  the  seventh  day  of  August,  1842,  a  man 
named  McVicker,  from  Bourbon  County,  Ky., 
handed  my  step-son  a  hundred  dollars,  to  pay  his 
expenses  from  Missouri  to  Kentucky.  It  was  sent 
by  his  relatives  in  Bourbon  County.  Their  object 
was  to  secure  possession  of  him,  so  that,  in  case  he 
should  die  before  he  became  of  age,  they  might 
inherit  his  property.  A  man  by  the  name  of 
White,  who  lived  near  me,  aided  in  decoying  him. 
They  seized  an  opportunity  when  I  was  from  home. 


JACOB  CREA  TH,  Jit. 


137 


"  The  boy,  before  he  left,  told  two  different  par- 
ties that  '  I  had  been  as  good  to  him  as  his  own 
father  could  have  been,  and  that,  if  he  had  not 
learned  it  from  other  sources,  he  would  never  have 
known  but  that  I  was  his  father.' 

"  When  he  reached  Paris,  Ky.,  he  chose  his 
uncle,  B.  F.  Bedford,  for  his  guardian,  who  immedi- 
ately commenced  a  suit  against  me  for  his  nephew's 
property.  To  place  him  out  of  my  reach,  they 
sent  him  to  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
died. 

"  The  following  certificate  shows  how  the  suit 
resulted : 

"  '  State  of  Kentucky,  Bourbon  Circuit  Court : 
I,  James  M.  Arnold,  clerk  of  the  court  of  the 
circuit  aforesaid,  do  hereby  certify  that  on  the 
eighteenth  day  of  May,  1843,  a  suit  in  chancery 
was  instituted  in  the  same  court,  by  Sidney  Bed- 
ford, an  infant  under  twenty-one  years  of  age,  who 
sues,  by  Benjamin  F.  Bedford,  his  guardian,  and 
writ  found  against  Jacob  Creath,  as  former  guardian 
of  said  Sidney  Bedford,  and  Thomas  Price,  Henry 
Foster,  Beverly  A.  I  licks,  and  Mason  Talbot,  as  bis 
securities  in  the  guardian  bond. 


138 


MEMOIR  OF 


u '  The  suit  was  tried,  so  far  as  B.  A.  Hicks  was 
concerned,  at  the  November  term,  1843,  and  the 
suit  dismissed,  as  to  him,  with  costs,  the  court  de- 
creeing him  released  from  his  bond. 

"'At  the  April  term,  1845,  it  was  referred  to 
Geo.  W.  Williams,  as  commissioner,  who  made  no 
report.  On  the  fourteenth  day  of  July,  1845,  tnat 
being  the  first  day  of  the  July  term  of  our  said 
court,  the  following  order  was  made  in  said  suit,  viz : 
This  day  Robert  C.  Clark,  Esq.,  counsel  for  the 
complainant,  suggested  the  death  of  said  Sidney 
Bedford,  and  the  suit  is  abated  thereby.  Which 
order  finally  disposed  of  the  cause  ;  and  no  decree 
was  rendered  in  the  suit  against  said  Creath,  or 
his  securities. 

" '  State  of  Kentucky,  Bourbon  Circuit  Court : 
I,  James  M.  Arnold,  clerk  of  the  court  of  the 
circuit  aforesaid,  do  hereby  certify  that  the  fore- 
going page  contains  a  true  statement  of  the  date 
of  filing  the  bill  in  the  suit  in  chancery,  lately 
decided  in  our  said  court,  relieving  the  parties 
therein  named,  with  the  final  order  made  in  said 
suit,  etc. 

" '  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


*39 


hand,  and  affixed  the  seal  of  my  office,  this  second 
day  of  March,  1846,  in  the  fifty-fourth  year  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Kentucky. 

"  '  J.  M.  Arnold.' 

" '  State  of  Kentucky,  set. :  I,  James  Simpson, 
sole  and  presiding  Judge  of  the  Bourbon  Circuit 
Court,  in  the  State  aforesaid,  do  hereby  certify- 
that  J.  M.  Arnold,  who  has  certified  and  attested 
the  foregoing  record,  was,  at  the  time  of  doing  the 
same,  and  still  is,  the  clerk  of  said  court,  and  that 
his  said  certificate  and  attestation,  as  such,  are 
in  due  form  of  law. 

"  '  Given  under  my  hand,  as  judge  aforesaid,  this 
second  day  of  March,  1846. 

"  James  Simpson.' 

"  My  guardianship,  in  this  case,  ultimately  ruined 
me  pecuniarily.  For  in  February,  1843,  a  year  of 
great  stringency  in  monetary  matters,  I  was  com- 
pelled to  sacrifice  $5,000  worth  of  good  property 
to  raise  a  balance  of  $1,500,  due  from  me  to  the 
estate  of  my  step-son  at  the  final  winding  up  of 
the  business.  This  was  all  that  I  had  made  by 
farming  in  Kentucky,  through  years  of  toil  and 
care." 


140 


MEMOIR  OF 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Ten  days'  labor  in  severe  weather  rewarded  with  the  splendid  sum 
of  three  dollars — Five  weeks'  constant  toil,  in  Iowa,  and  books 
bring  in  twenty-five  dollars — Involved  in  a  terrific  storm  at 
night. 

HE  winter  of  1843  was  intensely  cold. 
During  its  continuance  I  preached  in 
Marion  and  Lewis  counties.  At  one 
place  where  I  held  a  meeting,  we  cut  the  ice  in 
order  to  baptize.  I  then,  after  administering  the 
ordinance,  had  to  walk  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
before  I  could  change  my  clothing.  By  that  time, 
the  lower  part  of  my  raiment  would,  without  much 
effort,  have  stood  alone.  After  laboring  thus  for 
ten  days  or  two  weeks,  the  magnificent  sum  of 
three  dollars  was  presented  to  me  by  a  generous 
community ! 

"In  the  month  of  January,  1844,  I  visited  the 
State  of  Iowa ;  and,  in  company  with  Brothers 


JACOB  C HEATH,  Jr. 


I4I 


Matlock  and  Ross,  preached  at  Fort  Madison, 
Burlington,  Muscatine,  Augusta,  Loo's  Creek,  Keo- 
kuk, Desmoines,  and  F"ox  Rivers.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  five  weeks,  laboriously  occupied,  during  the 
severest  portion  of  an  Iowa  winter,  I  had  realized, 
from  my  labors  and  the  sale  of  books,  the  enor- 
mous sum  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  dollars  ! 

"In  April,  1844,  I  started  on  a  three  months' 
tour  of  preaching  and  baptizing  on  the  Missouri 
River.  On  my  return  trip,  I  met  with  some  ad- 
ventures which  I  would  cheerfully  have  dispensed 
with.  These  were,  the  imminent  risk  of  drowning 
in  'the  Father  of  Waters,'  and  a  tempest  in  the 
night,  as  I  neared  my  home.  I  sometimes  thought 
that  the  fierce,  howling  wind  would  blow  me,  horse, 
and  buggy  all  away.  The  continued  flashes  of 
vivid  lightning  which  accompanied  the  roar  of  the 
thunder,  and  the  drenching  rain,  were  the  only 
means  by  which  I  was  enabled  to  keep  the  road. 

"  The  following  winter  I  visited  Jefferson  City, 
preached  to  the  Legislature,  and  conducted  a  pro- 
tracted meeting,  aided  by  Brothers  Wills,  Joel  H. 
Hayden,  and  T.  M.  Allen.  Our  special  object,  in 
going  thither,  was  the  selection  of  some  young 
brother  whom  we  might  educate  for  the  ministry 


142 


MEMOIR  OF 


at  Bethany,  Virginia.  Through  my  influence  and 
that  of  Brother  Hayden,  Brother  Alexander  Proc- 
ter was  the  favored  candidate. 

"  In  the  month  of  August,  during  the  same  year, 
I  performed  a  journey  to  Tayes  Valley,  Virginia,  to 
see  my  aged  mother.  She  had  dwelt  '  in  these  low 
grounds,  where  sorrows  grow,'  her  'three-score 
years  and  ten,'  was  in  bad  health  and  feeble.  I 
preached  the  gospel  to  her  and  other  Baptists,  who 
bore  a  cordial  testimony  to  the  evangelical  charac- 
ter of  my  discourses. 

"I  first  preached  there  in  1828,  and  'the  new 
doctrine,'  as  it  was  erroneously  styled,  created  al- 
most as  much  excitement  as  in  the  days  of  the 
apostles,  by  whom  it  was  first  clearly  and  fully 
proclaimed. 

"The  Baptist  Association,  connected  with  this 
portion  of  Western  Virginia,  was  in  session  during 
my  visit,  and  at  their  request  I  preached  to  them. 

"  My  mother  asked  me  what  she  should  do. 
'  My  mind  and  heart,'  she  said,  '  are  with  you  ;  but 
you  have  no  congregation  in  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try. If  you  had,  I  would  gladly  unite  myself  with 
them.'  I  told  her  to  do  as  her  judgment  and  con- 
science dictated — rather  discouraging  the  idea  of 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


143 


separating  herself,  so  near  the  close  of  life,  from 
those  with  whom  she  had  so  long  been  agreeably- 
associated. 

"  Upon  a  thorough  review  of  her  case,  I  think, 
now,  that  I  grievously  erred.  The  proper  course 
for  me  to  have  advised,  and  her  to  have  adopted, 
would  have  been,  at  once  and  forever,  to  abandon 
an  unauthorized  and  God-condemned  human  or- 
ganization, different  from,  and  inconsistent  with 
the  one  Divine  church-organization,  the  history  of 
which  we  find  in  the  New  Testament ;  and  to  have 
resolved  herself  into  simple  membership  in  that 
church. 

"  Pure  and  elevated  as  her  character  was,  such 
an  example  upon  her  part  would,  when  her  head 
lay  low  in  the  dust,  have  spoken  volumes  in  favor 
of  '  the  good  way'  to  future  generations." 


144 


MEMOIR  OF 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

He  preaches  in  St.  Louis — Removes  thither — Accompanies  Brother 
Campbell  to  Columbia — They  preach — Brother  McChesney — 
First  Convert  in  New  Orleans — Her  name— Who  baptized  her. 


N  January,  1845,  I  traveled  to  St.  Louis, 
a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles, 
in  very  cold  weather,  and  preached  to  a 
few  '  Christians '  and  other  hearers,  in  the  third  story 
of  a  dark  house,  at  the  corner  of  Vine  and  Third 
streets.  I  then  returned  home  and  prepared  to 
remove  thither,  which  I  accomplished  in  the  month 
of  March. 

"  We  continued  to  occupy  the  same  place  of 
worship  until  we  leased  a  small  house  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Sixth  Street  and  Franklin  Avenue,  which 
the  Northern  Methodists  had  used  for  the  same 
purpose.  This  year  we  had  a  number  of  additions. 
I  baptized  them  in  Choteau's  Pond,  then  in  the 
western  part  of  the  city. 


JACOB  CR  EX  Til,  Jr. 


145 


"  During  the  summer  I  made  two  preacning 
tours  up  the  Missouri.  The  one  terminated  at 
Lexington,  Lafayette  County,  the  other  in  Frank- 
lin County.  Early  in  the  fall  I  visited  St.  Francis 
County,  in  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  State. 
In  October  I  accompanied  Brother  A.  Campbell 
from  St.  Louis  to  Columbia,  Boone  County,  to 
hold  a  meeting.  We  both  preached,  on  Lord's 
day,  to  very  large  and  attentive  congregations. 
The  house  could  not  contain  the  people.  Brother 
Campbell  visited  Missouri  for  the  purpose  of  rais- 
ing funds  for  Bethany  College,  and  succeeded. 

"  My  step-son  having  died,  I  took  a  journey  to 
Kentucky  to  look  after  his  estate,  which  now,  by 
the  laws  of  both  God  and  man,  became  the  inheri- 
tance of  his  half-brother  and  sisters,  the  children 
of  his  mother  by  me.  On  my  route  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  traveling  with  Brother  John  Rogers, 
from  St.  Louis,  who  has  lately  '  died  the  death  of 
the  righteous.' 

"  Subsequently  to  my  return  from  Kentucky,  in 
December,  I  lay  at  the  point  of  death  nearly  all 
the  remainder  of  the  winter.  After  the  restora- 
tion of  my  health,  I  still  continued  to  reside  in  St. 
Louis,  preaching  for  our  brotherhood  and  edu- 


146 


MEMOIR  OF 


eating  my  children,  until  the  month  of  September 
following,  when  I  returned  with  my  family  to  Pal- 
myra, which  has  been  our  home  ever  since. 

"  Later  in  the  fall  I  took  a  tour  through  the 
southern  portion  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee, 
preaching  in  Hopkinsville,  Clarksville,  Nashville, 
Cadiz,  Paris,  Paducah,  and  other  places,  making 
many  converts.  At  Paris,  alone,  thirty  confessed 
our  Saviour,  and  were  baptized. 

"  Three  months  of  my  life  were  thus  laborously 
occupied.  B.  F.  Hall,  Jesse  B.  Ferguson,  H.  T. 
Anderson,  and  John  R.  McCall  were,  a  portion  of 
the  time,  associated  with  me.  In  the  month  of 
December  I  passed  a  very  cold  night  on  a  wharf- 
boat,  at  Cairo,  Illinois,  where  I  contracted  a  cold 
from  which  I  have  never  recovered. 

"About  the  first  of  April,  1847,  I  took  my 
daughters,  Mary  E.  and  Margaret  Creath,  to  the 
Female  Seminary  at  Monticello,  Illinois.  Thence 
I  proceeded  to  St.  Louis,  and  then  to  New  Orleans. 
There  I  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  becoming  ac- 
quainted with  Brother  McChesney,  the  Lutheran 
minister  who  was  converted  to  the  pure,  primitive, 
Christian  Faith  by  hearing  the  Campbell  and  Rice 
Debate,  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  in  1843.    He  was  on 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jr. 


147 


his  way  from  Cuba,  to  which  he  had,  in  vain,  re- 
sorted for  health.  He  died  shortly  afterward  at 
Cincinnati,  Ohio.  As  a  preacher,  and  as  a  man, 
he  was  universally  esteemed  and  beloved. 

"  The  first  time  I  preached  in  New  Orleans,  I 
made  one  convert.  Her  name  was  Sophia  Sum- 
mers. She  was  baptized  by  Brother  Prewitt,  of 
Fayette,  Howard  County,  Mo.  Leaving  New 
Orleans,  I  proceeded  to  Cheneyville,  on  Red  River. 
There  I  met  Brother  Banks  Marshall  and  his  noble 
wife,  whom  I  had  baptized  at  Woodville,  Miss.,  in 
1827.  Josiah  Scott,  the  nephew  of  Gov.  Scott  of 
Mississippi,  whose  wife  I  baptized  at  the  same 
time,  was  also  there  with  Mr.  Scott's  mother,  and  a 
number  of  other  '  Disciples  '  who  had  removed  from 
Mississipi  to  that  portion  of  Louisiana.  I  preached, 
of  course,  the  ancient  gospel  to  them.  About  a 
dozen  believed  it,  felt  its  power,  and  obeyed. 

"The  next  point,  in  my  route,  was  Alexandria, 
where  I  renewed  my  acquaintance  with  James 
Brice,  one  of  my  fellow-students  at  College,  in 
Washington  City,  during  the  years  1822  and  23. 

I  then  revisited  Mayor  Johnson's,  my  old  home, 

near  Woodville,  Miss.,  and  preached  to  him  and 

his  servants.   His  wife,  since  our  first  acquaintance, 
10 


148 


MEMOIR  OF 


had  taken  up  her  permanent  abode  in  one  of  the 
towns  or  '  cities  of  the  dead.' 

"He  lived  and  died  in  theory  a  Calvinistic 
Baptist,  expecting  God  to  do  for  him  what  he 
should  have  done  for  himself.  Believing,  repent- 
ing, obeying,  are  the  works  of  the  creature.  Par- 
doning, adopting,  sealing,  upholding,  and  eternally 
saving,  are  the  works  of  Another. 

"  He  was  a  noble-hearted  man.  It  is  the  more 
to  be  lamented  that  he  most  probably  lost  his 
eternal  all  by  waiting  God's  time  to  accept  the 
offer  of  mercy,  which,  had  he  been  properly  in- 
structed, he  would  have  learned  was  always  the 
present  moment. 

"After  preaching  at  different  points  in  Wilkin- 
son County,  I  proceeded  to  Jackson,  the  capital  of 
the  State,  making  my  homes  while  there  at  the 
house  of  Gen.  Clark  and  that  of  his  son-in-law, 
Brother  Boddie,  two  of  the  best  men  I  have  ever 
been  acquainted  with.  Brother  Clark  had  been, 
like  me,  a  Calvinistic  Baptist  preacher. 

"  I  continued  my  labors  in  that  section  of  the 
country  until  near  the  last  of  June.  I  then  re- 
turned to  my  home  in  Palmyra.  I  arrived  on  the 
fourth  of  July.    It  was  also  Lord's  day.  And 


J. \COn  CEEATH,  Jr. 


149 


while  my  wife  and  children  were  at  the  sanctuary 
of  the  Most  High,  commemorating  a  vastly  more 
important  deliverance  than  that  connected  with  the 
former  epoch,  our  smoke-house  took  fire,  and  all 
our  provisions  were  consumed.  And  but  for  the 
extraordinary  exertions  of  Col.  Parker  Dudley  and 
other  kind  neighbors,  my  dwelling-house  and 
furniture  and  library  would  all  have  been  reduced 
to  ashes." 


MEMOIR  OF 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Elder  Jacob  Creath,  sen.,  visits  Missouri — His  preaching  is  accept- 
able— Elder  Jacob  Creath,  jr.,  publishes  a  book  against  Epis- 
copalianism. 

|N  the  year  1847,  my  much  venerated  and 
beloved  Uncle  Jacob  Creath  visited  Mis- 
souri. Although  he  was  more  than  sev- 
enty years  of  age,  his  preaching  was  highly  accept- 
able to  our  brotherhood  in  general,  and  to  his 
numerous  personal  friends  in  particular.  Many 
of  them  had  known  and  loved  him  from  the  earli- 
est period  of  their  being 

"  In  the  autumn  of  this  year,  I  revisited  the 
southern  part  of  Kentucky,  preaching  at  Hopkins- 
ville,  Lafayette,  Cadiz,  and  other  places  on  the 
Cumberland  River. 

"During  the  year  1848,  I  preached  to  our  con- 
gregations in  Palmyra  and  the  surrounding  coun- 
try.   I  also  visited  Indiana  and  Kentucky,  and 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jr. 


preached  at  New  Albany,  Louisville,  Sheibyville, 
and  other  places. 

"This  year  I  wrote  a  book  of  twenty-four  pages, 
entitled  'A  Blow  at  the  Root  of  Episcopalianism.' 
It  was  in  reply  to  a  small  book  published  in  Pal- 
myra, by  the  President  of  St.  Paul's  College.  In 
his  production  he  endeavored  to  prove  that,  with- 
out ordination  from  the  Episcopal  Church,  no 
Protestant  clergyman  had  a  right  to  preach  or  ad- 
minister the  sacraments. 

"  In  my  reply,  I  endeavored  to  render  the  fact 
very  conspicuous  that  no  such  institution  as  '  the 
Episcopal  Church'  was  spoken  of  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament ;  that  it  was  the  offspring  of  corruptions, 
which  had  been  accumulating  for  ages  after  the 
One  Church  of  the  Living  God  was  organized. 
Even  then,  it  was  not  known  by  that  name.  Our 
Episcopal  Church  originated  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
the  Eighth,  and  became  fully  developed  in  that  of 
his  successors. 

"  He,  becoming  disgusted  with  his  Roman  Cath- 
olic wife,  Catherine  of  Arragon,  whose  beauty  had 
faded,  and  whose  health  was  imperfect,  applied  to 
the  Pope  of  Rome,  to  whom  he  and  his  kingdom 
were  in  subjection,  for  a  dispensation  to  divorce 


152 


MEMOIR  OF 


her.  The  ground  on  which  he  based  his  petition 
was,  that  she  was  his  brother's  widow.  The  real 
reason,  however,  was  that  he  might  elevate  to  his 
throne  and  bed  a  beautiful  Protestant  lady,  named 
Anne  Boleyn,  by  whose  charms  he  had  become 
perfectly  captivated. 

"  His  un-Holiness  trifled  with  him.  He  applied 
to  the  universities.  They  decided  in  his  favor. 
He  married  the  object  of  his  affections,  renounced 
his  allegiance  to  the  Pope,  and  had  himself  consti- 
tuted Head  of  the  English  Church.  Both  before 
and  after  this  event,  he  was  a  Romanist,  having 
gained  the  title  of  '  Defender  of  the  Faith' — since 
worn  by  the  kings  and  queens  of  Great  Britain — 
by  a  work  written  against  Martin  Luther,  in  de- 
fense of  the  monstrous  dogma  of  Transubstan- 
tiation. 

"  Had  his  son  and  successor,  Edward,  lived,  he 
would  have  pushed  forward  the  Reformation  ;  but 
he  soon  died,  and  gave  place  to  his  sister — the 
Bloody  Queen  Mary — a  most  violent  Roman  Cath- 
olic. Fortunately  for  the  world,  her  career  was 
brief,  and  her  position  was  immediately  occupied 
by  the  '  Good  Queen  Bess,'  as  she  was  familiarly 
styled  —  in  honor  of  whom  one  of  our  States  is 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


153 


named  Virginia — the  murderess  of  Scotland's 
queen,  and  one  of  the  most  jealous,  proud,  envi- 
ous, malicious,  revengeful,  vain,  and  deceitful  hu- 
man beings  that  ever  played  a  part  on  this  world's 
wide  'stage.  She  deemed  it  her  interest  to  place 
herself  at  the  head  of  the  Protestant  party  of 
Europe,  yet  was  a  bigoted  Roman  Catholic,  and 
opposed  the  progress  of  religious  reform.  James, 
the  Sixth  of  Scotland,  and  First  of  England,  of- 
fended by  the  rudeness  of  the  Scottish  Presby- 
terian clergy,  and  delighted  with  the  polish  and 
adulation  of  the  English  bishops,  soon  adopted  his 
celebrated  maxim  of  '  No  bishop,  no  king ;'  and 
threw  himself  in  the  way  of  farther  reformation. 
Charles  the  First  was  a  savage  high-church  fanatic. 
Charles  the  Second,  after  living  a  very  wicked  life, 
died  in  the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  James  the  Sec- 
ond was  a  devotee  of  the  same  religion.  There 
were,  during  all  these  reigns,  good  men  in  England, 
who  would  have  delighted  to  reduce  every  thing 
connected  with  God's  worship  to  the  Bible  stand- 
ard, but  they  were  not  permitted  by  their  regal 
masters  and  mistresses  to  do  so.  Hence  I  re- 
garded ordination  by  the  English  Church  of  but 
little  more  value  than  though  it  was  derived  from 


154 


MEMOIR  OF 


the  'woman  sitting  upon'  the  'scarlet-colored 
beast,  full  of  names  of  blasphemy,'  '  the  mother 
of  harlots  and  abominations  of  the  earth,  drunken 
with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  and  with  the  blood 
of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus.'  Indeed,  Episcopalians 
themselves  profess  to  obtain  their  ordaining 
'grace'  through  that  very  channel." 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


155 


CHAPTER  XX. 

He  visits  Iowa — People  on  the  Desmoines  River  drunken,  profane, 
blackguard  —  Visits  St.  Paul — Is  the  first  man  who  ever 
preached  the  Primitive  Gospel  there — Great  Meeting  at  Mon- 
mouth, Illinois — Parting  Scene  with  his  Mother. 

"ISfPl^  April  and  May,  1849,  I  made  a  tour  to 
Hy  u2  Keokuk,  and  thence,  up  the  Desmoines 
River,  to  Eddyville.  I  preached  at  the 
latter  place,  and  organized  a  church.  There  were 
a  number  of  locks  and  dams  on  that  river.  While 
passing  the  Lord's  day  at  one  of  these  locks,  the 
captain  of  a  boat  proposed  to  me,  and  those  with 
me,  that  we  should  go  on  board,  and  help  him 
to  pull  through.  I  replied,  that  he  had  made 
a  proposition  to  us,  and  that  I  now  had  one  to 
make  to  him.  'Call  in  your  crew,'  I  continued, 
'and  let  me  preach  to  you  and  them.  Rest  the 
remainder  of  the  day,  and  on  to-morrow  all  of  us 
will  help  you.'    He  declined  the  arrangement,  say- 


MEMOIR  OF 


ing  '  he  had  no  time  to  wait.'  I  then  observed 
that  I  had  lived  fifty  years  without  performing  or- 
dinary labor  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  I  never  yet 
had  heard  of  any  thing  being  in  the  end  made 
by  it.  He  pursued  his  own  course,  however,  as 
is  usual  in  such  cases,  ran  his  boat  on  a  'snag,' 
and,  in  getting  her  repaired,  lost  both  time  and 
money. 

"After  preaching  at  other  towns  on  that  river, 
I  returned  to  Keokuk,  and  ascended  the  Missis- 
sippi River  to  St.  Paul.  I  am  the  first  man  that 
ever  preached  the  primitive  gospel  in  that  new 
region,  as  well  as  the  first  that  ever  proclaimed  it 
in  'Old  Virginia.'  I  will  do  the  people  on  the  Des- 
moines  River,  in  1849,  the  justice  to  say,  that  they 
were  the  most  drunken,  profane,  blackguard,  and 
otherwise  morally  degraded  population  that  previ- 
ous to  that  time  I  had  ever  met  with. 

"  In  the  fall  of  this  same  year,  I  conducted  a 
protracted  meeting  at  Monmouth,  Illinois.  Our 
services  continued  for  three  weeks,  and  resulted  in 
seventy-five  additions.  The  services  were  noise- 
less and  solemn.  The  conversions  were  effected, 
not  through  boisterous  appeals  to  the  animal  na- 
ture of  man,  but  through  the  power  of  God's  word, 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jr. 


157 


addressed  to  their  understanding,  conscience,  and 
heart. 

"  I  never  saw  so  great  a  change  produced  in  any- 
community  in  twenty-one  days.  In  this  instance 
Isaiah's  prediction,  with  reference  to  the  influence 
of  gospel  preachers,  was  remarkably  verified  '  The 
wilderness  and  the  solitary  place,'  says  he,  'shall 
be  glad  for  them  ;  and  the  desert  shall  rejoice,  and 
blossom  as  the  rose.  It  shall  blossom  abundantly, 
and  rejoice,  even  with  joy  and  singing ;  the  glory 
of  Lebanon  shall  be  given  unto  it,  the  excellency 
of  Carmel  and  Sharon.  They  shall  see  the  glory 
of  the  Lord,  and  the  excellency  of  our  God.' 

"  The  people  flocked  to  the  meeting  from  the 
whole  surrounding  country  ;  and  there  seemed  to 
be  no  limit  to  the  number  of  buggies,  wagons, 
carriages,  carts,  and  horses.  This  is  one  of  three 
meetings,  the  recollection  of  which  I  shall  fondly 
cherish  through  life.  The  other  two  were  those 
in  Versailles  and  Madison,  conducted  with  the 
assistance  of  Brother  John  T.  Johnson,  one  of  the 
loveliest  of  men. 

"  My  labors,  during  the  year  1850,  were  bestowed 
upon  Palmyra,  New  London,  Frankfort,  Houston, 
Lagrange,  Canton,  and  Monticello.    Of  the  year 


158 


MEMOIR  OF 


185 1,  I  spent  January  and  February  preaching  at 
Palmyra.  On  the  twenty-eighth  of  the  latter 
month,  I  started  on  a  tour  to  Kentucky,  accom- 
panied by  my  oldest  daughter,  Mary.  During  my 
absence  from  home,  I  preached  in  Kentucky,  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Western  Virginia.  I  also  visited  my 
mother.  She  was  in  her  seventy-seventh  year, 
and  infirm.  It  seemed  to  be  understood  between 
us,  that  we  would  never  meet  again,  until  we  had 
crossed  the  stormy  gulf,  on  this  side  of  '  the  shin- 
ing shore.'  We  were  both  sustained,  however,  by 
the  .priceless  hope  that — 

"  'Then  on  a  green  and  flowery  mount, 
Our  weary  souls  would  sit, 
And;  with  transporting  joy,  recount 
The  labors  of  our  feet.' 

That  then, 

"'No  vain  discourse  would  fill  our  tongue, 
No  trifles  vex  our  ear;' 

but  that— 

"  *  Infinite  grace  would  be  our  song, 
And  God  rejoice  to  hear.' 


"I  shall  never  forget  our  parting  scene.  As, 
with  her  withered  arms,  she  folded  me  to  her 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


159 


heart,  while  the  tears  flowed  down  her  furrowed 
cheeks,  she  kissed  me,  and  exclaimed  :  '  The  Lord 
bless  you,  my  son  Jacob !  You  have  been  a  good 
son  to  me !  If  I  never  meet  you  on  this  earth 
again,  I  hope  to  meet  you  in  the  resurrection  of 
the  just ! '  " 


i6o 


MEMOIR  OF 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


Marriage  of  his  daughter  Mary — Ungentlemanly  conduct  of  three 
young  men  at  Clinton,  Hinds  County,  Mississippi — A  mere 
pittance  for  a  large  amount  of  labor  and  exposure,  in  severe 
weather,  in  Monroe  County,  Missouri — Visits  Quincy  with 
Brother  Campbell. 


severe  attack  of  congestive  chills.  Dr.  Craven, 
who  was  afterward  murdered  at  Fairmount,  was 
my  physician. 

"  On  the  fifteenth  of  September  I  started  on  an- 
other tour,  to  Kentucky,  Mississippi,  and  Alabama. 
In  Alabama  I  spoke  at  Marion  Town,  Old  Town, 
Oak  Grove,  Greensborough,  Easton,  Clinton,  Sel- 
ma,  and  Montgomery. 

"April  7,  1852,  my  daughter  Mary  was  united 
in  marriage  to  William  A.  Corbin.     The  wedding 


SPENT  the  following  summer,  laboring 
as  an  evangelist,  in  Lewis  and  Scotland 
counties,  Mo.      While  there,  I  had  a 


JACOB  CUE  A  TH,  Jr. 


161 


took  place  at  the  house  of  Sister  Graham,  the 
widow  of  Alexander  Graham,  Esq.  The  ceremony- 
was  performed  by  Pinkney  O.  Lawson,  the  grand- 
son of  David  Lawson,  of  North  Carolina.  I  do 
earnestly  invoke  the  special  benediction  of  God 
upon  Sister  Graham,  for  her  peculiar  kindness  to 
me  and  my  beloved  child,  amid  these  affecting 
scenes. 

"  About  the  last  of  September,  I  spoke  one 
night  at  a  little  place,  in  Hinds  County,  Miss., 
called  Clinton.  Three  young  men,  whose  names 
were  George  Thomas,  Duke  Ricks,  and  Foster 
Jones,  behaved  improperly.  I  rebuked  them,  as  is 
my  custom  under  such  circumstances.  After  the 
meeting  they  attacked  me,  and  would  have  killed 
me  but  for  the  interposition  of  others.  When 
will  young  men  learn  that  becoming  deportment 
in  the  house  of  God  is  indispensable  to  the  charac- 
ter of  a  gentleman  ? 

"The  remainder  of  this  year  I  labored  at  Colum- 
bus and  Holly  Springs,  Miss.,  Little  Rock,  Ark., 
and  Paducah,  Ky.  At  Paducah  I  held  a  debate 
with  a  Baptist  preacher  named  Ford,  on  the 
threadbare  theme  of  'Justification  by  faith  alone.' 
I  also  visited  Nashville,  Tenn.,  and  preached  amid 


1 62 


MEMOIR  OF 


the  difficulties  connected  with  the  defection  of 
Jesse  B.  Ferguson. 

"In  the  spring  of  1853  I  returned  home,  and 
passed  the  summer  preaching  at  Palmyra,  Hanni- 
bal, Shelbyville,  Houston,  and  other  accessible 
places.  In  the  month  of  September  I  attended  a 
meeting  at  Canton,  Mo.,  with  Brother  James 
Shannon,  President  of  our  State  University  at 
Columbia.  Then  and  there  we  laid  the  corner- 
stone of  Christian  University,  each  of  us  deliver- 
ing an  oration  on  the  occasion. 

"  In  October  I  conducted  a  meeting  at  Linneus, 
Mo.,  at  which  I  baptized  about  ten  persons. 
Thence  I  journeyed  to  Brunswick,  Chariton 
County ;  Fayette,  Howard  County ;  and  Columbia, 
Boone  County ;  laboring  protractedly  at  each  of 
these  places.  I  also  included  Paris,  Monroe 
County,  in  my  homeward  route. 

"In  November  I  visited  Mill  Creek  Church,  in 
Adams  County,  111.,  where  I  met  Brother  A. 
Campbell,  whom  I  accompanied  to  Quincy.  On 
Saturday  morning  he  preached  there  on  the  first 
chapter  of  Hebrews,  and  on  Lord's  day  morning, 
on  Matthew  xvi.  16:  'Thou  art  the  Christ.'  At 
night  I  spoke  on  the  Commission,  from  Matthew 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jr. 


I63 


xxviii.  19  and  20.  The  remainder  of  the  year  I 
employed  in  holding  meetings  at  Lima,  Perry, 
Pittsfield,  and  Barry,  III  At  Barry  I  took  fifty- 
five  confessions. 

"In  January,  1854,  I  held  several  protracted 
meetings  in  Monroe  County,  Mo.,  in  extremely 
cold  weather.  I  realized  but  a  pittance  in  return 
for  my  toil  and  exposure.  Even  that  little  was 
important,  however,  in  preserving  my  family  from 
absolute  starvation. 

"In  the  early  portion  of  the  spring,  my  labors 
were  devoted  to  Palmyra,  with  the  adjacent  neigh- 
borhoods ;  and,  during  the  month  of  May,  to 
Quincy,  Bloomington,  Walnut  Grove,  and  Chicago, 
111.  In  June  and  July  I  conducted  meetings  at 
Canton,  Monticello,  Newark,  Columbia,  Rockport, 
Ashland,  and  Fayette,  Mo.  At  Ashland  we  had 
over  thirty  converts. 

"In  August,  D.  P.  Henderson,  James  Shannon, 
and  I  held  a  meeting  at  Middle  Grove,  Monroe 
County,  Mo.,  at  which  we  had  fifty-five  additions. 
In  October  we  visited  the  Paris  and  Union 
churches,  and  labored  with  some  success." 
11 


164 


MEMOIR  OF 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Becomes  Agent  for  the  Bible  Revison  Association — Liberality  of 
the  "  Border  Ruffians" — Yankee  Supper  at  Barry — Exciting 
Adventure  at  Louisville,  Kentucky — Meets  Brothers  Campbell 
and  Pendleton  at  Memphis— Phrenological  Chart. 

N  April,  1855, 1  attended  a  meeting  of  the 
Bible  Revision  Association  in  St.  Louis. 
My  agency,  in  connection  witH  it,  com- 
menced then  and  continued  for  six  years.  This 
position,  which  was  truly  a  God-send  to  me,  was 
procured  for  me  by  Judge  Crump,  of  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  who  subsequently  removed  to  Hanni- 
bal, Missouri,  and  died  there.  He  was  a  genuine 
Christian  gentleman.  His  death  was  a  misfortune 
to  the  church  and  to  the  world. 

"  During  the  remainder  of  April  and  May  I  vis- 
ited Lagrange,  Canton,  Alexandria,  Memphis,  Fair- 
mount,  and  Monticello,  Missouri  ;  also  Keokuk, 
Fort  Madison,  Burlington,  Columbus,  Richland, 


JACOB  C BE  ATM,  Jh. 


I65 


Bloomington,  and  Drakesville,  Iowa,  making 
speeches  on  the  subject  of  Bible  Revision.  Dur- 
ing the  summer  I  prosecuted  the  same  work  at 
Palmyra,  Shelbyville,  Bloomington,  Linneus,  Tren- 
ton, Chillicothe,  Gallatin,  Bethany,  Savannah,  Gen- 
tryville,  St.  Joseph,  De  Kalb,  Weston,  Platte  City, 
Cambden  Point,  Liberty,  Richmond,  Carrollton, 
and  Brunswick,  Missouri. 

"At  the  house  of  Dr.  Edwin  Price,  a  brother  of 
General  Sterling  Price,  and  a  relative  of  my  first 
wife,  I  was  attacked  with  rheumatism,  fever,  and 
diarrhea.  Through  the  skill  of  the  doctor,  and  the 
unremitting  attentions  of  his  kind  family,  I  re- 
covered. I  then  started  home,  accompanied  by 
Brother  T.  P.  Haley,  but  the  fatigue  of  traveling, 
under  a  burning  July  sun,  in  my  debilitated  condi- 
tion, brought  on  a  relapse,  which  came  near  proving 
fatal  to  me.  At  the  expiration  of  about  two  weeks 
the  brethren  at  Paris  sent  for  me.  As  soon  as  I 
became  convalescent  my  kind  wife  came  up,  and 
took  me  home. 

"As  soon  as  I  regained  my  strength,  I  visited 
Huntsville,  Glasgow,  Fayette,  Lexington,  Dover, 
Wellington,  Independence,  Harrisonville,  George- 
town, Warsaw,  and  Springfield,  Missouri,  and  Fay- 


1 66 


MEMOIR  OF 


etteville,  Arkansas.  I  returned  home  by  the  way 
of  Jefferson  City,  Fulton,  New  Bloomfield,  Mexico, 
and  Boonville. 

"  While  at  Jefferson  City,  I  enjoyed  the  privilege 
of  presenting  the  grand  theme  of  Revison  to  our 
Legislature.  I  reached  home  on  the  sixth  of  De- 
cember. 

"  This  year  I  was  very  successful,  having  raised, 
mostly  among  the  '  Border  Ruffians,'  as  we  Mis- 
sourians  were  respectfully  designated,  the  sum  of 
between  twelve  and  thirteen  thousand  dollars  in 
gold  or  its  equivalent.  I  need  not  add  that  my 
labors  were  highly  appreciated  and  complimented, 
both  by  the  leaders  of  the  Revision  movement  and 
other  distinguished  parties. 

"  On  the  twenty-second  day  of  January,  1856,  at 
the  request  of  Brother  Edmunds,  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  Revision  organization,  I  started 
on  a  journey  to  Louisville,  Kentucky.  In  com- 
pany with  six  or  eight  other  passengers,  I  crossed 
the  Mississippi  at  Hannibal,  on  the  ice,  in  a  stage- 
coach. The  atmosphere  was  intensely  cold.  It 
was  ten  o'clock  at  night  before  we  reached  Barry. 
There  I  enjoyed  the  unspeakable  pleasure  of  eat- 
ing a  regular  Yankee  supper,  which  means,  no 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


I67 


hot  coffee,  no  warm  savory  meat,  cold  light  bread, 
tea  made  upon  the  homeopathic  principle  of  a 
small  teaspoonful  to  a  gallon  of  water,  and  that 
not  boiling,  for  fear  of  exhausting  the  virtue  of  the 
plant  at  one  meal ;  a  very  little  butter,  and  a  great 
abundance  of  cold  apple  sauce. 

"  I  crossed  the  Illinois  and  Ohio  rivers  also 
upon  the  ice.  I  arrived  at  Louisville  late  in  the 
afternoon,  wearied,  and  cold,  and  hungry.  I  had 
my  baggage  put  down  at  the  door  of  a  house 
recommended  to  me  as  a  home  by  Brother  Crump. 
The  female  portion  of  the  household  refused  to 
receive  me;  the  omnibus'  that  conveyed  me 
thither  was  gone ;  my  trunk  was  so  large  and 
heavy  that,  without  assistance,  I  could  not  remove 
it,  and  I  could  not  well  leave  it  unprotected  on  the 
public  street  until  I  could  go  and  procure  a  con- 
veyance. I  continued  in  this  pleasurable  dilemma, 
I  suppose,  for  half  an  hour,  when  a  Dutch  dirt- 
cart,  coming  along,  enjoyed  the  honor  of  relieving 
me  from  my  embarrassment,  by  carrying  my  valu- 
ables to  the  office  of  Brother  Edmunds,  by  whom 
I  was  received  and  entertained  with  the  utmost 
cordiality. 

"Next  day  being  Lord's  day,  and  the  nlca«!"»-« 


1 68 


MEMOIR  OF 


of  conducting  public  worship  devolving  on  me,  I 
allowed  the  incident  of  the  preceding  evening  to 
suggest  my  theme;  which  was:  'The  Day  of 
Judgment,'  as  described  by  Him  who  will  preside 
on  that  pre-eminently  grand  occasion,  in  the  twen- 
ty-fifth chapter  of  the  gospel  according  to  Mat- 
thew. Among  other  expressions  found  in  this 
impressive  delineation  are  these :  '  Come,  ye 
blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  pre- 
pared for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world : 
for  I  was  hungry,  and  you  gave  me  meat :  I  was 
thirsty,  and  you  gave  me  drink :  I  was  a  stranger, 
and  you  took  me  in  ;  naked,  and  you  clothed  me : 
I  was  sick,  and  you  visited  me  :  I  was  in  prison, 
and  you  came  unto  me.  Then  shall  the  righteous 
answer  him,  saying,  Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  an 
hungered,  and  fed  thee?  or  thirsty,  and  gave  thee 
drink  ?  When  saw  we  thee  a  stranger,  and  took 
thee  in  ?  or  naked,  and  clothed  thee  ?  or  when  saw 
we  thee  sick  or  in  prison,  and  came  unto  thee? 
And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say  unto  them, 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  you  have  done 
it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  you 
have  done  it  unto  me.' 

"These  facts  will  constitute  a  moral  demon- 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jr. 


169 


stration,  satisfactory  to  the  intelligent  universe, 
that  they  were  his  sincere  friends,  and  worthy 
of  his  approbation.  '  If  we  love  one  another,  God 
dvvelleth  in  us  ;  and  his  love  is  perfected  in  us.' 
'  By  this  we  know  that  we  have  passed  from 
death  to  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren.'  My 
intended  landlady  was  present,  but  I  never  after- 
ward learned  how  she  enjoyed  her  intellectual 
repast. 

"  I  passed  the  following  winter  in  Kentucky, 
Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Tennessee. 
Next  summer  and  fall  I  visited  Kentucky  and  In- 
diana, and  traveled  extensively  in  Missouri,  deliver- 
ing lectures  in  Ralls,  Pike,  Lincoln,  Montgomery, 
Audrain,  Monroe,  Lewis,  Scotland,  and  Schuyler 
counties  ;  also  at  St.  Genevieve,  Cape  Girardeau, 
Jackson,  St.  Francisville,  Farmington,  and  St. 
Louis.  The  succeeding  winter  I  prosecuted  the 
same  good  work,  in  the  southern  portion  of  Ken- 
tucky, in  Tennessee,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Missis- 
sippi, and  Louisiana. 

"  In  1858,  I  made  three  tours  through  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee;  directing  special  attention  to  Rus- 
selville,  Bowling  Green,  Nashville,  Murfrccsborough, 
Shelbyville,  Lewisburg,  Lynnville,  Franklin,  and 


170 


MEMOIR  OF 


Columbus.  June,  July,  and  August  I  spent  in 
the  counties  bordering  on  the  Missouri  River,  and 
south  of  the  Osage  River,  not  overlooking  Fay- 
etteville  and  the  country  lying  on  White  River, 
Arkansas. 

"January  and  February,  1859,  I  lectured  on 
Revision  in  Ralls,  Marion,  Pike,  Lincoln,  Mont- 
gomery, and  Macon  counties,  Missouri.  March, 
April,  and  a  part  of  May,  I  devoted  to  the  same 
work  in  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  and  Louisiana. 

"  On  my  return-route  I  met  Brother  A.  Camp- 
bell and  his  lady,  and  Brother  Pendleton,  at  the 
Gayosa  Hotel,  Memphis,  Tennessee.  As  Brother 
Pendleton  conducted  me  into  the  room  where 
Brother  Campbell  was,  he  remarked  to  him  :  '  Do 
you  know  this  man  ?'  Raising  his  still  expressive 
blue  eyes,  and  looking  fixedly  at  me,  he  replied  : 
'That  is  my  old  fellow-servant,  Brother  Creath!' 
We  both  preached  that  day  in  Memphis.  Bishop 
Oty,  of  Episcopal  renown,  was  present,  and,  after 
'service,'  invited  us  to  dine  with  him.  Having  a 
previous  engagement,  however,  we  were  under  the 
necessity  of  declining  the  proffered  honor  and 
pleasure. 

"  EHiring  my  stay  at  Memphis,  I  obtained  from 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jr. 


171 


Professor  O.  S.  Fowler,  of  New  York  city,  the  fol- 
lowing chart : 

" '  Phrenological  chart  of  Mr.  Jacob  Creath, 
given  at  Memphis,  Tennessee,  by  O.  S.  Fowler, 
Professor  of  Phrenology,  May  20,  1859. 

"  '  W.  Giles,  Reporter. 

" '  Strength,  power,  efficiency,  go-ahead,  and  the 
utmost  indomitability,  is  your  predominant  trait, 
and  is  remarkable.  You  inherit  it  from  your  father, 
whom  you  resemble  ;  and  are  adapted  to  carry  on 
some  great  undertaking  requiring  the  utmost  per- 
severance ;  and  have  made  your  mark  on  the  in- 
tellect of  the  community  where  you  reside,  partly 
because  of  your  strong,  active  sense  ;  more  be- 
cause of  your  tremendous  energy  of  character. 

"  '  You  have  extraordinary  lungs,  great  muscles, 
a  splendidly-balanced  constitution,  and  have  a 
world  of  vitality ;  can  go  through  Herculean  la- 
bors, and  have  not  a  lazy  bone  in  your  body.  You 
are  excitable  a  little,  though  not  much  ;  rarely  ever 
let  your  feelings  get  the  better  of  your  judgment. 

" '  You  have  not  any  thing  like  as  much  culture, 
in  proportion,  as  you  have  natural  talents.  You 
have    excellent   digestion,    but   have  over-eaten 


172 


MEMOIR  OF 


all  your  life.  You  have  extraordinary  breathing 
power,  and  hardly  know  what  fatigue  is,  and  must 
be  out  of  doors  most  of  the  time.  You  have  an 
organism  more  favorable  to  judgment  than  brill- 
iancy. 

" '  You  are  a  ladies -man,  almost  worship  the 
sex,  and  appreciate  female  beauty.  You  should 
marry  a  wife  who  was  dependent,  not  obstinate,  for 
you  could  never  tolerate  an  obstinate  woman. 

" '  You  have  one  of  the  best  wives  that  ever 
was,  because  you  know  how  to  select  a  woman, 
and  because  you  would  live  well  with  any  woman  ; 
and  would  so  live  with  a  poor  woman  as  to  make 
her  a  good  wife,  even  if  poor  ;  and  your  wife  would 
lay  down  her  life  for  you.  You  are  thoroughly 
sexed,  are  pre-eminently  manly,  and  have  a  high, 
noble  bearing. 

"  '  You  have  very  strong  love  for  children,  espe- 
cially daughters,  literally  doting  on  them  as  if 
they  were  angels.  You  are  devotedly  attached  to 
home,  are  one  of  the  most  indulgent  of  husbands 
and  parents,  are  a  true,  warm,  generous  friend, 
and  have  a  warmer  heart  than  often  comes  under 
my  hands.  You  are  a  true  patriot  ;  are  want- 
ing in  continuity  ;  are  able  to  attend  to  a  great 


JACOB  CREAT1I,  Jr. 


173 


diversity  of  business  in  short  order  and  without 
mistake. 

" '  You  have  great  fortitude  to  bear  up  under 
disease,  and  will  not  allow  yourself  to  be  sick,  and 
will  not  give  up. 

" '  You  never  quarrel  with  others,  but  stand 
your  ground  like  a  man.  You  are  determined  to 
conquer,  but  never  punish  a  fallen  foe.  You  have 
an  excellent  appetite ;  go  in  for  the  plain  and 
substantial ;  can  make  money,  but  it  must  be  in  a 
large  way. 

" '  You  can  never  dabble.  You  are  perfectly 
candid,  never  act  in  a  cunning  way  to  attain  your 
end  ;  but  always  straightforward  and  correct.  You 
are  barely  cautious  enough  to  prevent  improper 
action. 

" 1  You  are  not  particular  as  to  what  people  say 
about  you  ;  pursue  an  independent  course  ;  do  as 
you  please,  and  let  people  say  what  they  like. 
You  are  most  uncompromising  when  your  mind 
is  once  made  up,  yet  are  judicious  in  making  it 
up.  You  are  rather  conservative.  You  are  a  true 
worshiper  of  the  Deity,  but  always  under  your 
own  vine  and  fig-tree  ;  skeptical,  and  never  admit 
any  thing  unless  proved  to  a  demonstration.  You 


174 


MEMOIR  OF 


ought  to  be  a  judge.  You  are  a  true  philanthro- 
pist ;  are  generous  ;  too  kind  for  your  own  good 
Do  n't  let  your  friends  put  their  hands  too  deep 
into  your  pockets  ;  and  do  n't  indorse,  unless  you 
are  willing  to  lose.  Do  n't  confide  too  much  in 
friends.  Learn  to  say  no.  I  would  not  wonder 
if  you  have  lost  half  you  have  made.  So  turn  a 
corner. 

" '  You  are  better  informed  than  one  in  a  thou- 
sand with  your  means  of  knowledge.  You  have 
a  poor  memory  as  regards  names  and  dates,  but 
good  at  recollecting  countenances,  facts,  and  ideas. 
You  ought  to  be  a  speaker,  not  because  yoirhave 
so  great  a  flow  of  words,  but  because  you  say  im- 
pressively what  you  say  at  all. 

"  '  You  have  a  wonderfully  accurate  eye  to  judge 
of  bulk  and  proportion,  and  can  not  tolerate  archi- 
tectural disproportion.  You  never  lose  your  way 
in  city  or  country. 

" '  Your  forte  lies  in  the  adoption  of  ways  and 
means  to  ends,  in  originality,  forethought,  contri- 
vance, and  penetration.  You  lack  the  agreeable ; 
you  pass  no  compliments,  not  enough ;  but  read  a 
man  right  through  the  first  time,  and  are  happy 
in  what  you  say ;  it  just  hits  the  nail  on  the  head. 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


i/5 


Your  criticisms  are  remarkable.  You  illustrate 
well. 

"'The  fact  is,  sir,  you  are,  by  nature,  a  great 
man ;  and  need  only  circumstances  to  make  you  a 
great  man.  And  you,  certainly,  are  one  of  the 
best  men  I  ever  examined,  and  are  universally 
beloved.' " 


1 76 


MEMOIR  OF 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


A  Blessing  pronounced  on  the  Masonic  Fraternity — Ten  Innocent 
Men  murdered  at  Palmyra,  Marion  County,  Missouri — Affect 
ting  Interview  with  them  before  their  Execution. 


gon,  Platte,  Jackson,  Lafayette,  Saline,  and  How- 
ard counties,  Missouri.  The  months  of  September 
and  October  I  devoted  to  the  south-western  portion 
of  the  State. 

"On  the  tenth  of  November,  I  left  home  for 
Alabama ;  and  passed  the  winter  and  a  part  of  the 
following  spring  in  the  northern  portion  of  the 
State,  and  in  Georgia,  Mississippi,  Tennessee,  and 
Arkansas  ;  especially  the  country  lying  on  White, 
Black,  and  St.  Peter's  rivers. 

"The  most  of  i860  I  employed  in  visiting 
Knox,    Marion,   Adair,   Gentry,   Mercer,  Lynn, 


u 


SPENT  June,  July,  and  August  lectur- 
ing in  Shelby,  Macon,  Chariton,  Ray, 
Clay,  Clinton,  De  Kalb,  Andrew,  Ore- 


JACOB  Clii: AT II,  Jit. 


177 


Atchison,  and  Oregon  counties,  Missouri ;  also 
Savannah,  St.  Joseph,  Weston,  Platte  City,  and 
Liberty.  In  the  fall  I  revisited  the  counties  lying 
on  the  Missouri  River.  Thence  I  journeyed  to 
Fayetteville,  Arkansas. 

"  It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  I  made  my 
way  back  from  Arkansas  in  December.  I  could 
not  have  done  so,  but  for-  the  assistance  afforded 
me  by  my  Masonic  brethren.  They  furnished  me 
with  a  carriage  .and  driver,  and  money  enough  to 
pay  my  expenses  to  St.  Louis.  God  bless  the 
Masons !  Masonry,  during  our  late  war,  saved 
thousands  of  lives  and  millions  of  property  !  Dur- 
ing that  whole  dreadful  period,  its  obligations  were 
universally  respected. 

"  During  my  sojourn  in  Fayetteville  the  brethren 
told  me  '  they  understood  the  subject  of  Revision, 
and  wished  me  to  preach  to  them.'  I  complied 
with  their  request,  and  selected  Paul's  conversion 
as  my  theme.  As  I  finished  what  I  had  to 
say  on  the  subject,  I  called  upon  Brother  Baxter 
to  'conclude.' 

"  He  was  the  successor  of  Brother  Graham,  as 
president  of  their  literary  institution.  When  he 
arose,  he  observed  :  '  I  never  heard  such  a  dis- 


178 


MEMOIR  OF 


course  before,  nor  did  you !  I  have  heard  all 
the  great  Lights  of  this  Reformation :  Alexander 
Campbell,  Walter  Scott,  and  others :  but  such  an 
oration  on  the  subject  of  Christianity,  I  have 
never  before  listened  to!'  The  congregation  also 
seemed  overwhelmed. 

"  I  paid  at  least  six  visits  to  this  place  between 
1855  and  i860.  In  looking  over  an  old  newspa- 
per, I  find  one  of  them  thus  spoken  of:  '  Elder 
Jacob  Creath  lately  held  a  meeting  in  this  place, 
in  "The  Disciples'  "  church,  which  has  resulted  in 
sixty  additions  to  that  body.' 

"  I  have  kept  no  record  of  the  number  of  per- 
sons that  I  have  baptized,  at  different  times  and 
places.  I  have  done  all  the  good  I  could  in  the 
world,  leaving  my  reputation,  as  regards  success, 
to  the  care  of  Him  'who  careth  for  us.' 

"  With  the  view  of  recruiting  my  wasted  strength, 
I  passed  the  winter  of  1861  at  home.  During  the 
month  of  May,  I  preached  and  lectured  in  Marion, 
Lewis,  Scotland,  Shelby,  and  Knox  counties. 

"About  the  last  of  July,  I  visited,  for  the  same 
purpose,  Chillicothe,  Trenton,  Mercer,  Plattsburg, 
Irvin's,  Colley,  Union,  and  New  Market. 

"  At  the  close  of  these  six  years  of  toil,  privation, 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


179 


and  conflict,  which  I  would  not  undergo  again  for 
the  whole  State  of  Missouri,  the  Bible  Union  at 
New  York,  and  the  Revision  Association  of  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky,  extended  to  me  their  unqualified 
approbation. 

"  On  the  eighteenth  of  September,  Andrew 
Allsman,  an  unworthy  member  of  the  Christian 
congregation  at  Palmyra,  was  taken  from  his 
home  by  Porter,  a  Confederate  general,  and  put 
to  death.  General  McNiel,  who  commanded  the 
Federal  troops  in  that  part  of  Missouri,  decided 
that  ten  innocent  men  should  die  for  him.  Their 
names  were  Thomas  A.  Sidener,  John  T.  McPhee- 
ters,  Thomas  Houston,  Willis  J.  Baker,  Herbert 
Hudson,  F.  M.  Lear,  Morgan  Dixler,  Eleazar 
Lake,  John  M.  Wade,  and  Hiram  Smith. 

"  In  the  hour  of  their  trouble  they  sent  for  me. 
As  soon  as  I  commenced  speaking  to  them, 
they  began  to  weep.  I  quoted  all  the  passages 
of  Scripture  that  I  could  think  of,  that  were  pecu- 
liarly applicable  to  their  condition  ;  and  exhorted 
them  not  to  lose  a  moment  of  their  precious  time, 
but  to  throw  their  whole  mind  and  heart  at  once 
into  the  all-important  work  of  preparing  to  meet 
their  God. 

12 


i  So 


MEMOIR  OF 


"  I  directed  their  attention  especially  to  the  ac- 
knowledgment of  their  offenses,  and  the  forgive- 
ness of  their  enemies.  All  of  them  agreed  to  do 
so  but  the  old  man  named  Willis  J.  Baker.  He 
said  '  they  were  about  to  be  put  to  death  un- 
justly. In  his  heart  he  could  not  forgive  his 
murderers,  and  he  would  not  profess  it  with  his 
mouth.' 

"  Two  of  the  men  appeared  to  be  about  fifty 
years  of  age,  and  seemed  indifferent  to  their  fate. 
One  of  them  was  a  Baptist.  He  said  '  he  was  in- 
nocent of  any  connection  whatever  with  Allsman's 
death ;  but  that  he  forgave  his  murderers  and  all 
who  had  ever  wronged  him  ;  that  he  had  made  his 
peace  with  God,  and  died  in  peace  with  all  man- 
kind ;  that  he  was  prepared  for  death,  and  there- 
fore not  afraid  to  die.' 

"  Lieutenant  Sidener  attracted  my  attention  by 
his  profuse  weeping.  I  addressed  him,  but  he 
could  not  speak.  He  was  in  the  bloom  of  life,  tall 
and  handsome.  He  occupied  the  position  of  lieu- 
tenant in  the  Confederate  service,  and,  though 
young,  was  a  high-toned  gentleman.  He  was  en- 
gaged to  be  married  to  a  lovely  young  lady  in 
Ralls  County,  Missouri. 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jb.  l8l 

"  When  he  found  that  he  had  to  die,  he  dressed 
himself  in  his  splendid  wedding  suit  of  black 
broadcloth,  with  white  satin  vest,  determined  that 
if  he  could  not  be  married  in  it,  he  would  be  mur- 
dered and  buried  in  it.  When  he  was  shot  to 
death,  he  fell  toward  those  who  killed  him ;  a  small 
hole,  fringed  with  red,  in  his  white  vest,  opposite 
his  heart,  showing  where  death  had  entered. 

"When  at  the  jail  before  they  were  executed, 
one  of  the  men  threw  his  arms  around  my  neck, 
screamed  aloud,  and  trembled  like  an  aspen  leaf, 
when  he  spoke  of  not  being  allowed  to  bid  his 
father  and  mother,  or  even  his  wife  and  children 
farewell ! 

"The  young  men  were  all  overwhelmed  with 
sorrow  in  view  of  their  untimely  doom.  For  my- 
self, when  I  fully  realized  their  dreadful  position, 
my  whole  frame  was  convulsed  with  grief,  tears 
flowed  down  my  cheeks,  and  with  the  most  intense 
interest  I  cried  to  God  to  have  mercy  upon  them. 
In  a  few  hours  they  were  ushered  into  eternity." 


1 82 


MEMOIR  OF 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


A  continuation  of  the  autobiography  of  Elder  Jacob  Creath,  from 
his  Diary  for  1862  and  the  years  following. 


URING  the  four  or  five  years  of  the  war 
I  was  compelled  to  remain  at  home  to 
take  care  of  my  family,  and  could  not 
go  from  home,  as  before  the  war,  to  preach.  Most 
of  the  incidents  that  occurred  during  the  war,  re- 
lated to  it,  and,  as  I  do  not  wish  to  relate  them, 
my  life  during  that  period  is  more  barren  of  mat- 
ter than  in  other  years. 

"My  diary  says,  November  28,  1862:  This  day 
my  house  was  searched  twice  by  Federal  soldiers 
for  Lieutenant  Bowles,  who  escaped  last  night  from 
prison  in  this  place.  They  did  not  find  him  in  my 
house.  This  is  the  sixth  time  my  house  has  been 
searched  and  nothing  found,  although  I  have  from 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


183 


the  Government  a  certificate  that  my  person  and 
property  is  to  be  held  inviolate. 

"November  29,  1862:  This  day,  one  year  ago, 
when  I  was  walking  out  for  purposes  of  meditation, 
devotion,  and  prayer,  I  was  arrested  by  the  pickets 
a  short  distance  from  my  house.  The  same  day  I 
also  appealed  to  Colonel  John  Glover,  commander 
of  cavalry  in  this  place,  and  he  gave  me  a  written 
certificate  to  pass  and  repass,  such  as  we  formerly 
gave  our  servants.  This  is  American  liberty  in  the 
year  of  grace,  1862. 

"  December  4th :  To-day  we  received  the  Presi- 
dent's message  to  Congress. 

"  Sunday,  December  7th  :  I  preached  in  this  place 
to-day  (Palmyra,  Missouri),  from  1  Tim.  iii :  14, 
15,  16,  on  good  behavior  in  the  house  of  God: 
'That  thou  mayest  know  how  thou  oughtest  to 
behave  thyself  in  the  house  of  God,  which  is  the 
church  of  the  living  God,  the  ground  and  pillar  of 
the  truth.'  David  says :  '  Holiness  becometh  thy 
house,  O  Lord,  forever.'  Ps.  xciii :  5.  This  dis- 
course is  intended  to  show  how  persons  should 
conduct  themselves  in  Christian  assemblies  or 
places  of  worship.  After  speaking  of  sacred 
places,  persons,  and  things,  I  proceeded  to  specify 


MEMOIR  OF 


some  rules  which  ought  to  be  observed  by  all  per- 
sons who  visit  Christian  assemblies,  and  the  rea- 
sons for  these  rules : 

"  I.  All  persons  who  go  to  a  place  of  worship 
should  religiously  and  conscientiously  endeavor  to 
be  in  the  place  before  the  service  begins.  This 
should  be  done  in  order  that  all  persons  may  hear 
the  Scriptures  publicly  read,  that  they  may  hear 
the  subject  announced,  that  they  may  not  disturb 
the  speaker  and  the  audience  after  the  service 
begins,  that  they  may  not  be  considered  disturbers 
of  the  good  order  of  the  congregation,  as  they  will 
be,  if  they  enter  after  the  worship  begins.  The 
general  rule  in  the  West  is  to  go  to  meeting  all  the 
time  of  preaching,  no  matter  at  what  hour  of  the 
day  the  meeting  is  appointed  ;  come  until  it  closes, 
and  even  after  it  closes,  as  I  have  seen  it  done  often. 

"  2.  It  is  expected  of  all  orderly  persons  that  they 
will  approach  the  place  of  worship  in  a  becoming 
manner,  seriously  and  'soberly,  not  laughing  nor 
joking,  nor  boisterously,  but  sedately,  as  though 
they  had  some  knowledge  of  the  Being  they  were 
going  to  worship. 

"  3.  After  entering  the  place  of  worship,  and 
being  seated,  there  should  be  no  talking  or  laugh- 


JACOB  CHEAT H,  Jr. 


185 


ing,  nor  whispering,  as  though  we  had  come  there 
for  chit-chat,  and  to  hear  and  report  all  the  news 
of  the  week  past,  and  like  we  had  met  in  a  ball- 
room or  theater,  instead  of  a  place  of  worship ; 
all  of  which  conduct  shows  a  breach  of  good  order, 
and  a  mind  destitute  of  piety,  and  wanting  in  all 
the  qualifications  of  a  good  hearer.  There  is  as 
much  depending  upon  the  hearer  as  upon  the 
speaker  for  edification.  One  reason  why  we  hear 
so  many  complaints  of  the  preachers  is  that  the 
people  are  not  in  a  proper  frame  of  mind  to  hear ; 
they  come  thoughtless,  prayerless,  without  reflec- 
tion and  meditation,  or  any  desire  to  be  profited. 
No  wonder,  then,  they  return  as  they  came,  without 
benefit,  full  of  levity  and  frolic,  as  if  they  had 
been  to  a  circus  or  a  horse-race. 

"4.  Whqn  the  benediction  is  pronounced  and 
the  assembly  dismissed,  we  should  retire  silently 
and  orderly,  not  fly  up  like  a  hen  after  a  hawk  when 
he  has  taken  one  of  her  chickens,  and  thereby 
shake  off  every  impression  made  by  the  sermon  as 
effectually  as  ducks  shake  off  the  rain  that  falls 
on  them.  This  conduct  is  very  common  and  fatal 
to  all  that  is  orderly  and  of  good  report.  Our 
Savior  places  foolishness  at  the  end  of  a  long  list 


MEMOIR  OF 


of  crimes  in  Matt,  xv,  much  or  all  of  which  he 
says  comes  out  of  the  heart  and  pollutes  the  man. 
Levity  is  as  bad  as  drunkenness  and  as  destructive  of 
all  that  is  good.  This  is  one  of  the  female  sins.  I 
have  seen  congregations,  after  dismission,  act  more 
like  children  dismissed  from  a  country  school  in 
the  evening,  than  like  sober  and  serious  Christians. 
One  reason  of  this  conduct  is  that  the  preachers 
are  fearful  of  their  popularity  and  take  no  care  to 
instruct  their  hearers  on  this  point.  Many  are 
fearful  of  being  branded  as  scolds,  which,  Webster 
says,  means  a  foul-mouthed  woman.  It  is  an  old 
Bible  proverb,  like  priest  like  people.  Some 
preachers  do  not  know  what  order  is.  Paul  told 
Timothy  to  reprove,  rebuke,  and  exhort ;  and  told 
Titus  to  rebuke  them  sharply.  Many  a  man  has 
lost  his  life  trying  to  keep  order.  The  harbinger 
of  our  Savior  lost  his  life  for  one  reproof;  he  said 
'it  is  not  lawful!  Respect  the  place  and  office, 
if  not  the  officer.  Meeting-houses  were  not  built 
for  chit-chat,  but  for  instruction,  devotion,  prayer, 
praise,  worship,  reading  the  Scripture,  and  .preach- 
ing. The  preacher  always  addresses  himself  to 
the  attentive  hearers. 

"  5.  No  well-bred  persons  will  carry  their  dogs 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


I87 


to  places  of  worship.  Even  the  heathens  would  not 
allow  dogs  to  enter  their  temples.  There  are  two 
ways  to  prevent  them  from  following  you.  Shut 
them  up  or  kill  them,  and  then  they  will  not  follow 
you.  I  have  seen  congregations  or  the  worship  de- 
stroyed by  dogs.  Almost  every  person  thinks  his 
pet  dog  can  follow  him  to  meeting,  and  if  every  pet 
dog  goes  to  meeting  then  it  will  be  a  meeting  of 
dogs.  If  one  dog  goes  to  meeting  why  not  all  dogs 
go,  and  fight  and  perform  their  obscene  and  vulgar 
antics,  and  set  the  youngsters  to  laughing,  as  is 
often  done?  No  person  of  good  manners  will 
carry  cigars  or  pipes  near  a  place  of  worship, 
much  less  stand  at  the  door  or  in  the  house  and 
puff  them.  This  marks  the  person  a  rowdy.  No 
orderly  person  will  whittle  sticks  or  pare  his  nails 
with  his  knife  during  the  hours  of  worship ;  nor 
chew  tobacco,  nor  spit  the  ambier  juice  on  the  floor, 
or  walls,  or  pulpit ;  nor  stand  in  the  aisles  or  doors 
to  prevent  passing,  nor  sleep  during  preaching. 
Stand  perfectly  still  while  the  benediction  is  being 
pronounced,  then  retire  quietly.  All  attentive 
observers  must  have  seen  the  difference  between 
the  quiet,  orderly  behavior  of  Quakers,  Presby- 
terians, and  Episcopalians  in  their  meetings,  and 


MEMOIR  OF 


other  religious  sects,  because  they  teach  their 
children  at  home  to  respect  sacred  places  and  per- 
sons, and  their  teachers  teach  the  people  good 
manners.  Some  persons  profess  to  have  a  great 
deal  of  religion,  but  have  very  little  manners  ;  others 
have  better  manners,  but  do  not  seem  to  have  so 
much  religion.  To  profess  to  have  religion  and 
not  good  manners  in  places  of  worship,  is  like  a 
boy  attempting  to  read  before  he  has  learned  to  spell 
well.  Good  manners  first,  then  religion  afterward. 
Of  all  places  on  earth,  the  Church  of  God,  which 
Paul  says  is  the  ground  and  support  of  the  truth, 
ought  to  be  the  most  orderly,  but  is  often  the 
most  disorderly,  place. 

"December  9,  1862:  To-day  is  a  golden  day — 
fine  and  brilliant.  If  all  the  happiness  in  this 
world  were  heaped  upon  one  person  it  would  not 
make  him  very  happy;  therefore  every  person 
should  seek  a  better  portion  than  this  world 
affords.  How  few  of  what  may  be  called  happy 
days  does  any  person  enjoy  in  this  world  unless 
they  are  spent  in  devotion,  prayer,  and  praise. 
For  the  sake  of  others,  when  I  am  dead,  I  will 
here  state  the  order  of  my  family. 

"I  rise  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  in  the 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jr. 


summer  season,  and  at  five  in  the  winter  time.  I 
make  a  fire,  and  wash  my  face,  head,  and  feet  in 
cold  water,  to  prevent  colds,  fevers,  catarrh  in  my 
head,  and  other  diseases,  and  to  preserve  my  hear- 
ing. My  wife  then  rises  and  dresses  herself,  and 
we  read  a  chapter  in  the  Bible — I  one  in  the 
morning,  and  she  one  in  the  evening.  We  then 
unite  in  prayer  to  God  for  his  blessing  and  direc- 
tion. We  have  breakfast  between  six  and  seven 
o'clock,  and  we  eat  supper  about  six  in  the 
evening.  After  breakfast,  I  walk  about  one  mile 
west  of  my  house,  to  a  woods,  and  there  I  spend 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes  in  private  prayer, 
where  I  have  more  real  happiness  in  close  com- 
munion with  God  than  all  this  world  can  afford 
me.  I  would  not  be  deprived  of  this  source  of 
enjoyment  for  this  world  and  all  its  vanities. 
Vanity  of  vanities,  all  is  vanity,  saith  the  Preacher. 
It  will  soon  perish  in  our  hands.  I  then  return 
home,  and  spend  the  time  in  reading  and  writing 
until  twelve  or  one  o'clock,  when  we  dine.  I  then 
go  to  the  post-office,  and  spend  the  afternoon  in 
visting  the  families  of  the  city,  and  in  reading 
the  papers.  Every  Christian  man  should  have  a 
family  altar  in  his  house,  and  bring  his  family 


190 


MEMOIR  OF 


around  it  morning  and  evening,  and  in  times  of 
affliction  three  times  a  day,  as  I  have  done.  There 
is  no  other  way  to  train  our  families  in  the  in- 
struction and  discipline  of  the  Lord. 

"December  24,  1862:  To-day  Mrs.  Sowers  is 
visiting  at  my  house,  and  told  me  that  Dr.  Bar- 
clay's family  was  in  London,  and  that  his  son 
would  be  married  to  brother  A.  Campbell's  daugh- 
ter. Her  husband,  Mr.  Sowers,  is  sister  Barclay's 
brother. 

"Christmas  day,  December  25,  1862:  The  Jews 
say  the  world  was  created  on  the  first  day  of  Sep- 
tember. Our  Savior  was  probably  born  on  the 
fourteenth  day  of  September.  His  birth  has  been 
placed  in  every  month  of  the  year  by  learned  men. 
His  birth  was  placed  on  the  twenty-fifth  day  of 
December  by  the  Greek  Church,  near  the  close 
of  the  fourth  century,  which  proves  that  up  to  that 
time  they  did  not  know  the  exact  day  of  his  birth  ; 
and,  as  the  people  of  the  fourth  century  did  not 
know  the  day  of  his  birth,  we  of  the  nineteenth 
century  can  not  know  it.  The  day  is  awfully 
desecrated  by  the  nations  of  Christendom. 

"December  26,  1862:  To-day  I  went  to  Han- 
nibal to  speak  for  the  Masons  to-morrow,  the  birth- 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


I91 


day  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist.  Organized  Ma- 
sonry is  older  than  the  gospel  by  one  thousand 
years. 

"December  28,  1862:  I  preached  at  Hannibal 
in  the  morning  for  Bro.  L.  B.  Wilkes,  from 
Habakkuk  ii :  4,  and  the  eleventh  chapter  of 
Hebrews  :  '  The  just  shall  live  by  his  faith.'  At 
night  I  preached  from  Jeremiah  vi :  16:  'Thus 
saith  the  Lord,  stand  in  the  ways ;  and  they  said, 
We  will  not  walk  therein.' 

"Monday,  December  29,  1862:  I  preached  at 
Mount  Zion  from  the  Great  Supper,  Matt,  xxii ; 
Luke  xiv.  Bro.  Wilkes  was  present  and  said  it 
was  demonstration. 

"December  30,  1862:  I  preached  from  Naaman, 
the  Syrian  Leper,  2  Kings  v.  At  night,  from 
John  ix  :  The  blind  young  man. 

"December  31,  1862:  I  preached  from  Joshua 
xxiv  :  Family  religion.  'As  for  me  and  my  family, 
we  will  serve  God.'  At  night,  on  the  eternal 
piiesthood  of  Christ.    Gen.  xiv;  Ps.  cx ;  Heb.  vii. 

"Thursday,  January  1,  1863,  introduced  me 
into  a  new  year,  and  I  came  home  and  found 
a  letter  from  my  children  in  Alabama,  which 
greatly  rejoiced  my  heart,  as  I  had  not  heard 


192 


MEMOIR  OF 


from  them  in  two  years,  and  did  not  know 
whether  they  were  dead  or  alive.  I  had  often 
prayed  for  them  in  that  time,  and  I  thanked  God 
that  he  had  heard  my  prayers.  I  do  not  know  how 
the  letter  came,  as  the  mails  were  stopped. 

"Before  I  close  the  account  of  1862  entirely,  I 
should  state  that  in  the  summer  of  this  year  I  re- 
ceived a  colonel's  commission  from  New  York,  from 
a  Federal  officer,  requesting  me  to  raise  a  company 
of  men  and  bring  them  to  Washington  City,  and 
I  should  be  well  paid  for  my  trouble,  for  from 
what  he  heard  his  father  say  of  me,  whom  I  knew 
fifty  years  ago,  he  thought  I  was  the  man  to  do 
it.  I  let  him  know  that  he  and  his  father  were 
both  mistaken  in  me;  that  it  must  have  been 
another  Jacob  Creath  ;  that  if  he  or  his  father  had 
ever  known  me,  they  would  have  known  that  this 
Jacob  Creath  could  not  be  induced  by  honors  nor 
money  to  go  to  war.  I  have  the  commission,  and 
was  called  Colonel  Creath. 

"1863:  I  preached  in  this  place  during  the 
winter.  March  26:  I  left  home  for  Paris,  Monroe 
county,  Missouri.  I  remained  in  that  place  preach- 
ing and  visiting  families  until  April  6.    On  the 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jr. 


1 93 


night  of  the  13th  of  March,  1863,  when  I  went 
into  the  pulpit  to  preach,  I  found  the  following 
letter  lying  on  the  Bible  addressed  to  me: 

"'Reverend  Sir:  The  loyal  citizens  of  this 
town,  and  the  United  States  soldiers,  would 
respectfully  ask  you  to  state  publicly  why  you 
neglect  to  pray  for  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  all  in  authority.  If  you  preach  the 
doctrine  of  Christ  and  the  apostles,  you  should  not 
forget  the  "powers  that  be"  in  your  prayers.  If 
you  have  a  satisfactory  reason  for  this,  it  is  but 
reasonable,  in  the  present  troublous  times,  that 
we  should  know  such  reason.  Should  you  refuse, 
we  shall  take  it  for  granted  that  you  are  disloyal, 
and  shall  act  in  the  premises  accordingly.  A 
Union  Man.  H.' 

"  I  read  the  letter  publicly,  and  then  remarked, 
off-hand,  without  a  minute  to  reflect,  in  substance 
as  follows  : 

"  That  as  a  people  we  were  opposed  to  the  intro- 
duction of  politics  into  the  pulpit ;  that  I  had  never 
done  it  before  nor  since  the  war  ;  that  this  was 
the  position  of  our  people ;  that  Christ  and  the 


194 


MEMOIR  OF 


apostles  did  not  preach  politics ;  that  it  was 
pulpit  politicians  who  had  brought  the  present 
distress  upon  the  country  by  preaching  politics 
instead  of  the  gospel  ;  that  at  the  beginning  of 
the  war  I  had  published,  in  the  American  Christian 
Revieiv,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  the  course  that  our 
people  would  pursue  relative  to  the  war,  which 
was  indorsed  by  Bro.  A.  Campbell ;  that  I  had 
shown  it  to  our  Bro.  A.  D.  Strachan,  before  I  left 
home,  who  did  not  dissent  from  it  materially ; 
that  the  clergy  had  no  right  to  mix  politics  with 
the  gospel  ;  that  they  did  not  allow  politicians  to 
intrude  themselves  into  the  pulpit,  nor  to  assume 
any  of  their  functions,  and,  by  the  same  rule,  they 
should  not  meddle  with  politics  ;  that  God  had 
divided  society  into  various  departments,  and  that 
no  one  man  was  qualified  to  attend  to  all  the  du- 
ties of  society,  and  that  it  was  not  right  for  men 
to  meddle  with  each  other's  callings.  It  was  wrong 
to  convert  the  pulpit  into  a  political  arena.  I 
hope  the  American  people  will  never  permit  it.  I 
stated  that  since  I  had  been  a  preacher  I  had 
prayed  for  all  in  authority,  and  that  I  could  prove 
it  by  hundreds  in  Kentucky  and  Missouri,  and 
in  other  places,  and  that  if  I  had  done  it  one 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


195 


time,  I  had  obeyed  the  divine  command  which  did 
not  require  me  to  pray  for  the  rulers  every  time  I 
prayed.  That  the  charge  of  disloyalty  might  have 
been  brought  against  our  Savior  with  the  same  rea- 
son as  against  me,  for  when  he  taught  his  disciples  a 
form  of  prayer  he  did  not  teach  them  to  pray  for  the 
Roman  Emperor,  nor  for  Pilate,  the  Roman  Gov- 
ernor ;  and  that  if  I  chose  to  repeat  that  prayer  every 
time  I  prayed  I  would  avoid  the  charge  of  disloyalty 
as  well  as  our  Savior.  I  moreover  stated,  that  the 
letter  was  anonymous,  and  that  I  was  not  bound 
to  notice  it ;  that  I  was  attending  to  my  own  legiti- 
mate business.  I  then  sat  down  and  gave  oppor- 
tunity for  a  reply ;  but,  as  no  one  replied,  I  arose 
and  prayed  that  the  President  of  the  United  States 
might  administer  the  Constitution  as  all  his 
predecessors  in  office  had  done,  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Government  up  to  the  time  he  came 
into  office,  and  that  God  would  grant  him  repent- 
ance for  all  his  sins,  and  forgive  him  for  all  the 
evils  he  had  brought  on  this  nation. 

"  I  was  not  arrested.    I  heard  that  the  old 
Abbey,  who  was  the  suspected  author  of  the  let- 
ter, and  who  had  been  spreeing,  said  he  did  not 
care  to  hear  any  more  such  prayers  as  that  was. 
13 


196 


MEMOIR  OF 


This  is  a  part  of  my  history  that  ought  to  be  re- 
ported in  justice  to  me  and  posterity. 

"  I  remained  in  St.  Jo,  preaching  and  visiting, 
from  April  6th  to  the  24th,  when  I  returned  home, 
on  account  of  sickness.  I  remained  at  home  until 
May  8,  when  I  left  for  Quincy,  Illinois,  where  I 
was  introduced  to  young  Bro.  Sims,  an  amiable 
and  promising  preacher,  who  has  since  died.  May 
22  :  'Bro.  D.  S.  Burnett  came  to  Quincy — he  and 
sister  Burnett.  We  spent  a  pleasant  and  a  profit- 
able day  in  conversation,  and  I  found  him  to  be 
a  Christian  gentleman  and  a  great  orator.  I  re- 
turned home  on  the  25th  of  May,  and  remained  at 
home  until  June  11,  when  I  again  left  home  for 
Illinois,  and  preached  in  Quincy,  Ursa,  Jackson- 
ville, Winchester,  Scottsville,  Linnville,  and  other 
places,  and  returned  home  July  15.  Many  of  my 
acts,  tribulations,  and  trials,  must  remain  written 
in  dust  till  the  day  of  judgment.  These  memoirs 
are  a  very  imperfect  sketch  of  them.  I  have  never 
received  much  credit  from  men  for  what  I  have 
done  and  suffered.  Thev  have  written  my  faults 
in  marble,  and  my  virtues  in  the  dust.  I  hope  God 
will  do  me  justice  in  the  great  day. 

"July  23:  To-dav  an  Irishman   came  to  my 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


I97 


house  and  got  a  three-dollar  bill,  found  the  Sun- 
day before  by  our  boy  Luke.  When  I  gave  it  to 
him  he  said:  'You  are  an  honest  man,  which  is  the 
noblest  work  of  God.'  I  lost  two  pocket-books, 
one  with  forty  dollars  in  it,  which  I  never  got. 

"The  devil  tolls  people  to  hell  as  we  toll  hogs 
along  the  road,  by  dropping  a  few  grains  of  corn 
before  them.  Our  cities  and  villages  are  strewn 
with  the  devil's  corn,  and  are  full  of  his  pens  where 
he  catches  his  hogs  to  destroy  them. 

"July  30:  To-day  I  leave  home  again  for  Illinois 
and  shall  be  absent  from  three  to  four  weeks 
preaching  day  and  night.  In  Mount  Sterling  and 
in  Rushville,  I  stopped  with  old  Bro.  Wells,  who 
was  with  me  at  a  great  meeting  I  held  in  Mon- 
mouth, Illinois,  in  November  1847,  where  we  had 
seventy  additions.  Bro.  McGinnis  accompanied 
me  to  Rushville.  Bro.  Levi  Hatchett  was  with 
me  in  Mount  Sterling. 

"  August :  Two  ladies  confessed  Christ,  and  were 
immersed  in  Crooked  Creek  by  Bro.  McGinnis.  I 
preached  one  week  in  Schuyler  county  and  one 
week  near  Camden.  On  my  return,  I  preached 
in  Clayton,  Adams  county.  The  females  behaved 
badly.    Boileu,  a  French  writer,  was  once  asked 


198 


MEMOIR  OF 


why  a  young  king  could  begin  to  reign  at  eight 
years  of  age,  but  could  not  marry  until  twenty-one  ? 
He  answered  :  '  Because  one  woman  was  harder  to 
govern  than  a  kingdom  of  men.'  <  They  will 
whisper,  talk,  laugh,  and  giggle,  and  if  reproved 
for  it,  will  blame  and  punish  the  preacher.  They 
think  their  sex  protects  them".  With  all  their  vir- 
tues they  are  more  ill-behaved  in  Christian  assem- 
blies than  men.  So  say  all  the  preachers  I  ever 
heard  speak  on  the  subject.  I  arrived  home  Au- 
gust 25,  1863.  I  averaged  about  one  dollar  per 
day,  including  my  expenses,  for  twenty-seven  days. 

"  Sunday,  August,  30  :  I  preached  in  this  place. 
That  night,  old  sister  R.  Allen  was  taken  ill,  and 
sent  for  me.  She  was  eighty-two  years  old,  a  woman 
of  sound  understanding,  good  constitution,  strong 
common  sense,  simplicity  of  manners,  upright- 
ness, firmness,  temperance,  benevolence,  and  an 
old-fashioned  Christian  woman.  I  preached  her  fu- 
neral sermon.  She  was  a  kind  neighbor,  a  humane 
mistress,  and  an  affectionate  wife  and  mother. 
Peace  to  her  ashes. 

"Thursday,  September  9:  I  left  home  for  Alton, 
Illinois.  I  stopped  on  the  Terre  Haute  railroad, 
with  brother  Dorsey,  and  held  a  meeting  at  Ridge- 


JACOB  CllEATH,  Jr. 


199 


ley  with  brothers  Osborne  and  Heddington.  It 
requires  a  lifetime  to  get  to  heaven  or  hell.  I 
visited  brother  Hatcher's  and  Mrs.  Short's  families 
in  Ridgeley.  I  also  held  a  meeting  in  Moreentown 
with  brother  Jordan  W.  Jeffries,  whom  I  knew 
when  a  young  man  in  Virginia  in  18 19.  I  visited 
Shelbyville,  and  stopped  with  brother  Bastion,  a 
learned  preacher,  and  a  convert  from  Methodism. 
I  stayed  a  part  of  the  time  at  Shelbyville  with 
brother  Roberts,  a  kind  and  good  man. 

"  October  1  :  I  went  to  Windsor  to  preach,  and 
stopped  with  brother  Logan.  On  the  eighth  day 
brother  Wiley  Rose  took  me  to  Sullivan,  in  Moul- 
ton  county,  to  old  brother  Bushrod  Henry's,  who 
is  an  old-fashioned  Christian  gentleman  of  the  best 
type.  He  is  a  pioneer  preacher,  and  a  pillar  in 
our  cause.  I  had  six  confessions  in  Sullivan.  On 
the  2 1  st,  I  went  to  Mattoon,  and  stopped  with  bro- 
ther Humphreys,  the  preacher.  From  Mattoon 
I  went  to  Charlestown,  and  stopped  with  brother 
Miller,  where  I  remained  till  the  26th,  when  I  left 
for  Decatur,  and  stopped  with  brother  Nelson.  I 
preached  there  until  the  4th,  when  I  left  for  home, 
a  distance  of  180  miles.  I  went  to  Quincy  to 
preach,  on  the  7th  of  November.    I  had  two  con- 


200 


MEMOIR  OF 


fessions.  I  remained  at  home  the  balance  of  the 
year,  preaching  in  Palmyra  and  Houston,  Mount 
Zion,  and  other  places,  until  the  close  of  the  year 
1863. 

"  The  year  1 864,  with  some  of  its  ups  and  downs : 
I  remained  in  this  place  preaching  all  the  winter, 
and  visiting  the  poor,  who  are  the  representatives 
of  Christ.  All  great  enterprises  begin  with  the 
poor.  I  would  rather  visit  them  than  the  rich. 
God  has  chosen  them  to  be  heirs  of  the  kingdom. 

"March  30:  To-day  I  received  the  American 
Christian  Review,  with  a  piece  headed  'A  Voice 
from  the  East,'  signed  by  James  Graham,  a  Scotch 
Baptist,  in  which  he  says  that  brother  A.  Campbell's 
introduction  to  M.  E.  Lard's  Review  of  Jeter,  is 
worth  all  the  rest  of  the  book,  and  he  regrets  that 
he  could  not  have  answered  Jeter  instead  of  Lard, 
and  says  further,  that  Lard's  Review  is  hasty, 
abrupt,  and  ill-tempered. 

"  Prince  Talleyrand  was  educated  for  a  Catholic 
priest,  but  became  a  politician,  and  was  one  of  the* 
most  powerful,  influential,  and  master  spirits  of 
Prance,  and  who  always  continued  to  be  on  the 
popular  side.    He  was  worth  thirty  millions  of 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


201 


francs,  and  had  all  the  honors  that  the  European 
sovereigns  could  confer  on  him  ;  yet  he  was  un- 
happy. He  died  at  eighty-three  years  of  age. 
The  night  before  his  death  he  said :  '  Behold, 
eighty-three  years  passed  away  ;  what  cares,  what 
agitations,  what  anxiety,  what  ill-will,  and  what 
sad  complications ;  and  all  without  other  results 
than  great  fatigues  of  body  and  mind,  and  disquiet 
with  regard  to  the  past,  and  a  profound  discourage- 
ment and  despair  of  the  future.'  What  a  mourn- 
ful confession  for  such  a  man.  'Vanity  of  vanities, 
all  is  vanity,  salth  the  preacher.' 

"  On  the  i  ith  of  July,  1864,  I  left  home  for  Mid- 
dleport,  Meigs  county,  Ohio,  to  see  my  youngest 
sister,  L.  J.  Seashols,  who  fled  from  West  Virginia 
on  account  of  the  war,  and  I  remained  in  that 
place,  preaching  day  and  night,  and  visiting,  and 
then  returned  by  the  Ohio  river,  and  preached  one 
week  in  Riley,  Ohio,  and  in  Kentucky,  at  Dover, 
Mayslick,  Germantown,  Minerva,  Millersburg,  and 
Cynthiana,  and  through  Indiana  and  Illinois.  I 
was  absent  over  three  months.  The  balance  of 
the  year  I  spent  in  preaching  in  this  place  and 
the  adjacent  country. 


202 


MEMOIR  OF 


"  1865,  with  its  toils  and  labors:  I  preached  in 
Illinois  and  this  place  until  May  27th,  when  I 
left  home  for  Davis,.  Breckinridge,  and  Caldwell 
counties,  Missouri,  preaching,  and  made  over  thirty- 
converts  ;  returned  by  way  of  Chillicothe,  and  ar- 
rived home  on  the  3d  of  July,  1865.  In  Chilli- 
cothe, I  visited  the  families  of  brethren  Crawford, 
Boyle,  and  Hutchinson  ;  Cox's,  at  Gallatin  ;  brother 
D.  T.  Wright's  and  Moore's,  in  Chillicothe  ;  also, 
Abshire's,  Eastin's,  and  Manseur's.  Patience  is 
the  key  to  every  door,  and  the  remedy  for  every 
evil. 

"  On  the  20th  of  July,  I  left  home  for  Illinois, 
and  preached  in  Quincy  and  at  Fowler's  station. 
I  stayed  with  Dr.  Gilmer  and  his  amiable  family, 
and  preached  one  week.  The  weather  was  hot 
and  wet.  I  preached  two  weeks  at  Perry,  in  Pike 
county.  I  stayed  with  Bro.  Samuel  Johnson,  who 
was  formerly  from  Kentucky.  From  Perry  I  went 
to  Abingdon,  in  Knox  county,  and  stayed  with 
brother  James  Butler.  From  Abingdon  I  went  to 
Tolbert's  Branch,  and  preached  two  weeks,  and  had 
four  confessions.  I  stayed  with  Wra.  Wallace  and 
his  mother,  sister  Wallace.  I  returned  home  on 
the  4th  of  September,  1865. 


JACOB  mKATH.  Jr. 


203 


"On  the  second  Saturday  and  Sunday  in  Septem- 
ber I  was  in  Quincy,  with  brothers  Sims,  Samuel 
Hatch,  Thomas  Crutcher,  and  Benjamin  F.  Smith, 
all  of  whom  said,  when  the  Missouri  test-oath  was 
the  subject  of  conversation,  that  they  would  not  take 
it ;  that  they  could  not  do  it  without  perjury.  In 
a  few  days  afterward  the  oath  went  into  operation, 
and  rather  than  take  it  I  went  to  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee,  and  preached  at  Corinth,  Concord, 
Hopkinsville,  Trenton,  Clarksville,  Nashville, 
Franklin  College,  Liberty,  Energetia,  and  other 
places,  and  returned  November  24th.  Brother  C. 
M.  Day  was  with  me,  and  we  had  many  additions 
to  the  churches.    I  left  on  the  25th  of  September. 

"  In  January,  1865, 1  preached  in  Quincy,  Illinois, 
and  received  nineteen  persons  for  baptism. 

"March  8,  1865:  I  left  home  for  Carrollton, 
Illinois,  and  preached  there,  and  in  Fayette,  Linn- 
ville,  and  other  places,  and  returned  home  on  the 
14th  of  April. 

"  1866,  with  some  of  its  events:  Early  in  April, 
I  left  home  for  Madison  county,  Kentucky,  and 
preached  in  Madison,  Garrard,  Jessamine,  Fayette, 


204 


MEMOIR  OF 


Lexington,  Woodford,  Scott,  and  Harrison,  and 
returned  late  in  June. 

"  On  the  30th  of  August,  I  left  home  for  south- 
ern Kentucky,  and  preached  in  the  Green  River 
country,  in  Glasgow,  Bowling  Green,  Hopkinsville, 
Trenton,  Nashville,  and  Clarksville.  I  returned  in 
November. 

"May,  1867:  I  went  to  south-eastern  Missouri, 
and  preached  in  Libertyville,  St.  Francis  county, 
and  had  thirty  confessions — mostly  young  persons. 
I  also  preached  in  Fredericktown  and  St.  Geneva, 
and  returned  by  way  of  St.  Louis,  and  preached  in 
Troy,  Louisville,  Paynesville,  and  Clarksville,  and 
arrived  home  on  the  3d  of  August. 

"August  27,  1867:  I  left  home  for  the  Missouri 
river,  and  preached  at  Miller's  Landing,  and  had  a 
number  of  additions.  I  also  preached  in  Inde- 
pendence, Kansas  City,  Antioch,  Liberty,  Lexing- 
ton, Richmond,  Dover,  and  Carrollton  and  re- 
turned home  October  31. 

"1868:  Early  in  April,  I  left  for  New  Albany, 
Indiana,  and  preached  there;  and  then  in  southern 
Kentucky,  at  Trenton  ;  then  in  Clarksville,  Ten- 


JACOB  CREATE,  Jr. 


205 


nessee  ;  then  in  Paris,  Tennessee,  where  we  had 
thirty  additions  ;  then  in  Union  City,  where  we 
had  twenty  additions  from  one  sermon  ;  making 
more  than  fifty  additions  in  West  Tennessee.  I 
returned  home  the  last  of  June. 

"  In  July  I  left  home  for  the  Valley  of  Virginia, 
and  preached  in  Strasburg,  Mount  Jackson,  Edin- 
burg,  Harrisonsburg,  Richmond,  and  in  the  place  of 
my  nativity,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State ;  also 
in  North  Carolina,  and  made  that  year  one  hun- 
dred converts.  I  returned  in  October.  In  the  fall 
I  visited  St.  Jo  and  the  western  part  of  Missouri, 
and  preached. 

"The  year  1869  I  spent  in  preaching  in  Mis- 
souri, in  the  counties  of  Marion,  Rolla,  Shelby, 
Macon,  Adair,  and  Lewis, 

"  1870:  On  the  14th  of  March,  I  left  home  for 
Corinth,  Mississippi,  and  preached  there  one  week, 
and  one  in  Baldwyn,  and  then  proceeded  to  Ma- 
rion, Alabama,  and  preached  there  several  weeks. 
I  then  went  to  Chattanooga,  Tennessee  ;  then  to 
Huntsville,  Mooresville,  Athens,  Mountain  Home, 
Moulton,  and  Danville,  and  returned  home  in  June, 


206 


MEMOIR  OF 


and  preached  in  Missouri  the  balance  of  the  year, 
in  the  counties  of  Shelby,  Macon,  Randolph,  Adair, 
and  Marion. 

"  1 87 1  :  This  year  I  have  made  two  visits  to 
Illinois,  and  preached  in,  Missouri  in  the  counties 
of  Macon,  Adair,  Shelby,  and  Marion.  I  am  now  in 
the  fifty-fifth  year  of  my  ministry,  of  which  I  must 
shortly  give  an  account.  Two  things  grieve  me. 
First,  that  I  have  done  so  little  good  ;  second,  that 
I  have  done  so  many  wrong  things.  We  only  pass 
through  the  world  once,  and  can  not  return  to  undo 
the  wrong.  After  I  am  dead  my  enemies  can  do 
me  no  injury,  and  my  friends  can  do  me  no  good. 
I  forgive  all  the  wrongs  done  to  me." 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


207 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Some  errors  in  the  life  of  Elder  John  Smith  corrected,  and  some 
strictures  on  the  same,  and  on  the  Memoirs  of  A.  Campbell. 

N  page  180  of  the  Life  of  Elder  John 
Smith,  it  is  stated  that  the  North  Dis- 
trict Association  met  on  the  fourth  Sat- 
urday in  July,  1827,  at  Cave  Spring-,  in  Madison 
county,  Kentucky  ;  and  on  pages  185-6,  a  conver- 
sation is  said  to  have  taken  place  at  that  associa- 
tion between  brother  and  sister  Smith  and  David 
Chenault.  On  page  314,  it  is  stated  that  I  returned 
from  Mississippi  in  December,  1828,  which  is  cor- 
rect. I  left  for  Mississippi  in  October,  1826.  The 
last  association  I  attended  in  Kentucky,  before  I 
left  for  Mississippi,  was  in  Paris,  August,  1826. 
The  first  association  I  attended,  after  my  return 
from  Mississippi  to  Kentucky,  was  in  July,  1829,  at 
Unit\r,  Clarke  county,  Kentucky,  where  I  heard  the 


208 


MEMOIR  OF 


conversation  between  the  parties  which  is  referred 
to  above,  for  I  was  near  the  parties  at  the  time, 
sitting  on  my  horse.  In  1827,  I  was  in  Missis- 
sippi, and  could  not  therefore  have  heard  it  in 
either  1827  or  1828,  because  I  was  not  in  Ken- 
tucky in  either  of  those  years  till  near  the  close 
of  1828.  The  conversation  took  place  at  Unity, 
Clarke  county,  Kentucky,  July,  1829,  which  I 
heard.    Dates  and  facts  are  important  in  history. 

The  second  error:  The  conversation  referred  to 
on  pages  364-5  between  John  Taylor  and  John 
Smith,  at  Spencer,  in  July,  1829,  took  place  the  win- 
ter before  the  meeting,  at  Thomas  Bullock's,  in 
Woodford  county,  Kentucky,  and  a  part  of  it  was  re- 
peated at  Spencer,  in  July,  1829.  The  description 
given  by  brother  Smith  of  Taylor's  "  Campbellism 
Exposed  "  is  very  imperfectly  given.  After  going 
over  the  chief  topics  of  the  conversation  at  Bul- 
lock's the  winter  before,  Smith  closed  his  recom- 
mendation of  Taylor's  book  by  saying:  "I  will 
say  to  you  now,  Father  Taylor,  what  I  said  to  you 
then,  that  if  all  the  slanders,  misrepresentations, 
falsehoods,  and  lies  in  that  book  were  torn  out  of 
it,  there  would  not  be  enough  left  for  a  thumb- 
paper  for  a  school-boy,"  holding  up  his  right  hand 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


209 


with  the  thumb  straight  upward,  and  shaking  it 
most  significantly.  "  I  thank  you,  brother  Smith, 
for  your  recommendation."  "  You  are  welcome, 
Father  Taylor,  to  my  recommendation."  The 
effect  was  electrifying ;  the  crowd  roared  with 
laughter.  With  Smith's  recommendation,  Taylor 
sold  only  one  book,  I  heard,  at  that  meeting. 

In  the  life  of  brother  Smith,  on  pages  360-4, 
we  have  an  account  of  brother  Smith  reading 
the  new  Constitution  of  Missouri,  before  leav- 
ing Kentucky  for  Missouri,  requiring  him  to  take 
the  black  oath  to  preach  in  Missouri,  his  refusal  to 
take  the  oath,  his  arrest,  his  reasons  for  refusing 
to  sign  the  bond,  his  determination  to  go  to  jail, 
his  recantation  and  signing  the  bond,  his  release 
by  the  sheriff,  and  his  return  to  Kentucky;  his 
appearance  at  Mexico,  Missouri,  in  October,  1866, 
and  what  the  judge  said  to  him  on  his  refusal  to 
sign  the  bond,  etc.  I  believe  he  was  wrong  to  re- 
fuse to  take  the  black  oath  to  preach.  My  reasons 
for  $p  believing  are  : 

First,  he  saw  and  read  the  Missouri  constitu- 
tion before  he  left  Kentucky,  requiring  him  to 
take  the  oath  if  he  went  to  Missouri.  He  there- 
fore knew,  before  he  left  Kentucky,  that  if  he  went 


2IO 


MEMOIR  OF 


to  Missouri,  he  would  be  required  to  take  the  oath, 
before  he  could  preach,  by  the  new  constitution  of 
Missouri.  This  one  reason  is  enough  to  prove 
that  he  was  wrong  in  refusing  to  take  the  oath. 

The  second  reason  :  He  was  asked  by  his  son- 
in-law,  Mr.  Lee,  before  he  left  Kentucky,  if  he 
would  take  the  oath  to  preach  in  Missouri.  He 
answered  he  would  not.  Then,  said  Mr.  Lee,  you 
had  better  not  go  there.  All  reasonable  persons 
will  say  the  same  thing.  Either  do  not  go  there,  or 
if  you  do,  take  the  oath  to  preach,  or  else  stay  in 
Kentucky,  where  you  can  preach  without  taking 
the  oath.  His  going  to  Missouri  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, and  giving  public  notice  that  he  was 
going  to  change  his  course  from  talking  to  preach- 
ing— the  thing  which  the  supreme  law  of  the  State 
forbid  him  to  do — looks  as  if  he  acted  defiantly  to 
the  constitution  of  Missouri,  and  courted  persecu- 
tion or  notoriety.  The  action  said  :  I  knew  of  the 
existence  of  this  law  before  I  left  Kentucky  ;  I  was 
advised  not  to  go  to  Missouri  unless  I  was  .pre- 
pared to  take  the  oath  required  by  the  new  con- 
stitution ;  but  I  was  determined  to  go,  and  not 
take  the  oath,  and  to  preach,  and  thereby,  willfully 
and  knowingly,  violate  the  supreme  law  of  the 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


211 


State  of  Missouri,  and  take  the  consequences. 
To  say  the  least  of  the  act,  it  did  not  look  much 
like  the  "unconditional  obedience"  which  was 
the  watchword  of  brother  Smith's  Union  party 
during  the  war.  It  did  not  look  much  like  that 
obedience  that  is  required  of  Christians  in  the  fol- 
lowing scriptures:  Rom.  xiii  :  i-io;  i  Peter  ii: 
13,  14,  15  ;  Titus  iii :  1,  2.  If  he  had  been  ignor- 
ant of  the  law  of  Missouri  before  he  went  to  the 
State,  he  would  have  been  more  excusable  for  re- 
fusing to  take  the  oath.  If  he  had  been  a  citizen 
of  Missouri,  it  would  have  materially  changed  the 
case.  If  he  had  been  a  rebel  during  the  war,  he 
would  have  been  more  consistent  in  refusing  to 
take  the  oath.  But  coming  to  Missouri  for  the 
purpose  of  defying  the  law,  as  he  did,  he  was 
wholly  unjustifiable  in  his  course.  So  the  judge 
told  him. 

My  third  reason  for  thinking  he  was  wrong  in 
not  taking  the  oath  after  he  went  to  Missouri  is, 
that  he  supported  the  party  during  the  war  which 
made  the  constitution  which  required  the  oath  to 
preach.  The  constitution  and  the  oath  were  the 
necessary  results  of  the  war — the  result  in  part  of 
his  own  nets  and  deeds.  The  judge  said  to  him  : 
14 


212 


MEMOIR  OF 


"  I  do  not  see  Mr.  Smith,  how  you,  as  a  Union 
man,  can  refuse  to  take  the  oath."  It  was  mor- 
ally wrong  to  support  the  war,  and  then,  as  soon 
as  it  was  over,  turn  on  the  other  side,  as  many 
others  have  done,  and  thus  have  the  advantage  of 
both  ends  of  the  war,  and  refuse  to  swallow  their 
own  pills.  He  stated  to  the  judge,  that  as  far  as 
the  politics  of  the  oath  was  concerned,  he  could 
take  the  oath  with  as  clear  a  conscience  as  any 
man  in  Missouri.  That  is,  he  could  help  plant  the 
tree,  but  his  conscience  would  not  allow  him  to 
eat  the  fruit.  It  is  said,  circumstances  alter  cases. 
What  principle  was  involved  in  the  taking  of  the 
oath  which  was  not  involved  in  the  war  ?  What 
greater  infidelity  in  the  legislature  which  made  the 
constitution  than  in  the  party  that  made  the  legis- 
ture  ?  The  judge  said:  "Mr.  Smith,  I  think  it  a 
little  strange  that  a  Union  man,  and  a  truly  loyal 
man,  should  refuse  to  take  the  oath  to  preach." 
Brother  Smith  spoke  of  the  example  of  the  first 
Christians  before  me.  The  first  Christians  did 
not  support  the  infidels  that  made  the  laws  that 
persecuted  them  and  their  brethren  unto  death,  as 
did  the  men  who  supported  the  party  that  made 
the  law  which  required  Christians  to  take  an  un- 


JACOB  CREATH,  Jr. 


213 


constitutional  oath  before  they  could  preach  the 
gospel.  Therefore,  his  case  and  that  of  the  early- 
Christians  were  not  alike.  He  was  paid  in  his  own 
coin.  What  was  the  difference  between  the  men 
who  made  the  law  and  the  men  who  supported 
them  to  make  it  ?    I  can  not  see  any. 

ERRORS  IN  OTHER  AUTHORS  CORRECTED. 

I  saw  it  stated  in  one  of  our  periodicals,  in 
either  1869  or  1870,  that  A.  Campbell,  Jacob 
Creath,  sen.,  and  Jacob  Creath,  jr.,  attended  the 
meeting  in  Lexington,  Kentucky,  in  January, 
1832,  at  which  the  friends  of  B.  W.  Stone  and 
A.  Campbell  were  united.  This  is  a  mistake.  I 
know  certainly  that  neither  of  us  attended  that 
meeting.  I  was  in  Lexington,  but  did  not  attend 
the  meeting,  because  at  that  time  the  feelings  be- 
tween the  two  parties  were  not  cordial.  I  did  not 
oppose  the  union  of  the  two  people,  but  then  I  was 
not  cordial  in  it,  neither  were  the  other  two  men 
mentioned.  I  had  other  reasons  for  not  attending  it. 

In  the  memoirs  of  brother  A.  Campbell,  vol.  2, 
page  381,  the  writer  says,  when  speaking  of  J.  T. 
Johnson,  that  his  attention  was  directed  to  the 


214 


MEMOIR  OF 


religious  questions  which  were  then  occasioning  so 
much  excitement  in  Kentucky  at  that  time,  and 
to  which  attention  had  been  particularly  directed 
by  the  proceedings  of  the  church  at  the  Great 
Crossings,  in  1828,  against  Jacob  Creath,  jr.,  who 
was  at  that  time  their  preacher,  and  known  to 
favor  the  doctrines  of  the  reformation.  In  the 
first  place,  I  was  not  in  Scott  county,  Kentucky, 
nor  at  the  Great  Crossings,  in  1828.  In  the 
second  place,  the  Great  Crossings  church  had  no 
proceedings  against  me  in  1828.  In  the  third 
place,  I  was  not  the  preacher  of  the  Great  Cross- 
ings church  in  1828.  I  was  in  Mississippi, 
Louisiana,  Bethany,  Virginia,  Eastern  Virginia,  and 
Tennessee,  and  arrived  in  Kentucky  late  in  De- 
cember, 1828.  In  the  fourth  place,  at  the  State 
meeting  in  Harrodsburg,  Kentucky,  in  September, 
1852,  John  T.  Johnson  said  to  me,  that  if  it  had 
not  been  for  me,  he  would  not  have  been  in  the 
reformation.  I  was  first  introduced  to  him  while 
he  was  a  member  of  Congress  in  Washington  City, 
in  1821.  I  was  the  preacher  of  the  Great  Cross- 
ings church  in  1825,  and  until  October,  1826,  when 
I  left  for  Mississippi,  and  returned  late  in  Decem- 
ber, 1828.    I  wrote  to  the  author  of  brother  Camp- 


JACOB  CREATII,  Jr. 


215 


bell's  Memoirs  to  learn  why  he  made  these  state- 
ments, and  why  he  did  not  name  me  in  that  work 
except  where  it  was  unavoidable,  and  why  he  did 
not  say  as  much  of  me  as  of  other  actors  in  the  re- 
formation in  Kentucky.  I  have  received  no  answer 
as  yet. 

November  22,  1871. 


THE  'IRON  DUKE" 
by 

Earl  West 


On  May  20,  1859  a  tall,  gaunt  man  stepped  up  to 
the  office  of  O.S.  Fowler,  phrenologist,  in  Memphis, 
Tennessee  and  requested  the  eminent  scientist  to  pre- 
pare his  chart.  Regardless  of  what  one  may  think  of 
FJ.  Gall's  "empircal  system  of  psychology,"  more 
commonly  known  as  phrenology,  its  description  of  the 
character  of  Jacob  Creath,  Jr.  is  surprisingly  accurate. 
Creath  had  left  his  home  at  Palmyra,  Missouri  early 
in  the  spring  to  make  an  extended  tour  south.  He  had 
visited  a  district  meeting  of  brethren  at  Washington, 
Arkansas  where  he  delivered  a  lecture  on  Bible  revi- 
sions. Following  this  he  had  visited  H.M.  Slopon's 
school  for  girls  at  Baton  Rouge,  La.,  and  was  now  re- 
turning to  his  home  up  the  Mississippi  River.  The 
steam  boat  docked  at  Memphis,  and  perhaps  out  of 
curiosity,  Creath  made  his  way  to  the  office  of  O.S. 
Fowler.  When  the  chart  was  finally  prepared,  Creath 
read  about  himself  as  follows: 

Strength,  power,  efficiency,  go-ahead,  and  the  ut- 
most indomitability  is  your  predominant  trait,  and  is 
remarkable.  You  inherit  it  from  your  father,  whom 
you  resemble;  and  are  adapted  to  carry  on  some  great 
undertaking  requiring  the  utmost  perseverance,  and 
have  made  your  mark  on  the  intellect  of  the  com- 
munity   where  you  reside- -partly   because  of  your 


2 


THE  -IRON  DUKE" 


strong  active  sense,  more  because  of  your  tremendous 
energy  of  character.  You  have  extraordinary  lungs, 
great  muscles,  a  splendidly  balanced  constitution, 
and  have  a  world  of  vitality;  can  go  through  herculean 
labors,  and  have  not  a  lazy  bone  in  your  body.  You 
are  excitable  a  little,  though  not  much,  and  rarely 
ever  let  your  feelings  get  the  better  of  your  judgment... 
You  have  not  anything  like  as  much  culture  in  pro- 
portion as  you  have  natural  talents. 

You  have  excellent  digestion,  but  have  overeaten 
all  your  life. 

You  have  extraordinary  breathing  power,  and  hard- 
ly know  what  fatigue  is,  and  must  be  out  of  doors  most 
of  the  time. 

You  have  an  organism  more  favorable  to  judgment 
than  to  brillancy.  You  are  a  ladies'  man,  almost  wor- 
ship the  sex,  and  appreciate  female  beauty. 

You  should  marry  a  wife  who  is  dependent,  not  ob- 
stinate, for  you  never  could  tolerate  an  obstinate 
woman.  You  have  one  of  the  best  wives  ever  was,  be- 
cause you  know  how  to  select  a  woman,  and  because 
you  would  live  well  with  any  woman,  and  would  so 
live  with  a  poor  woman  as  to  make  her  a  good  wife, 
and  your  wife  would  lay  down  her  life  for  you. 

You  are  thoroughly  sexed.are  preeminently  manly, 
have  a  high,  noble  bearing.  You  have  a  strong  love 
for  children,  especially  daughters,  literally  doting  on 
them  as  if  they  were  angels. 

You  are  devoted  attached  to  home,  are  one  of  the 
most  indulgent  of  husbands  and  parents,  are  a  true, 
warm,  generous  friend,  and  have  a  warmer  heart  than 
often  comes  under  my  hand. 

You  are  a  true  patriot,  are  wanting  in  continuity, 
are  able  to  attend  to  a  great  diversity  of  business  in 


THE  "IRON  DUKE" 


short  order  and  without  mistake.  You  have  a  great 
fortitude  to  bear  up  under  any  disease,  will  not  allow 
yourself  to  be  sick,  and  will  not  give  up. ..You  never 
quarrel  with  others  but  stand  your  ground  like  a  man. 
You  are  determined  to  conquer,  but  never  punish  a 
fallen  foe. 

You  have  an  excellent  appetite,  go  in  for  the  plain 
and  substantial;  can  make  money,  but  it  must  be  in  a 
large  way;  you  never  can  dabble.  You  are  perfectly 
candid,  act  in  a  cunning  way  to  attain  your  end,  but 
always  straightforward  and  correct. ..You  are  barely 
cautious  enough  to  prevent  action,  but  enough  so  to 
keep  you  from  embarking.  You  are  not  particular  as 
to  what  people  say  about  you,  pursue  an  independent 
course,  do  as  you  please,  and  let  people  say  what  they 
like. 

You  are  most  uncompromising  when  your  mind  is 
made  up.  You  are  rather  conservative.  You  are  a  true 
worshipper  of  the  Deity,  but  always  under  your  own 
vine  and  fig  tree;  but  always  skeptical  and  never  ad- 
mit anything  unless  proved  to  be  a  demonstration... 
You  ought  to  be  a  judge.  You  are  a  true  philanthropist, 
are  generous,  too  kind  for  yo"ur  own  good;  don't  let 
your  friends  put  their  hands  too  deeply  in  your  pockets, 
and  don't  endorse  unless  you  are  willing  to  lose,  con- 
fide too  much  to  friends,  learn  to  say  no.  I  should  not 
wonder  if  you  have  lost  half  you  made,  so,  turn  a 
corner. 

You  are  better  informed  than  one  in  thousands  of 
your  means  of  knowledge.  You  are  poor  in  memory  of 
names  and  dates,  but  good  at  recollecting  counte- 
nances, facts,  and  ideas.  You  ought  to  be  a  speaker, 
not  because  you  have  so  great  a  flow  of  words,  but  be- 
cause you  say  impressively  what  you  say  at  all. 


4 


THE  "IRON  DUKE" 


You  have  a  wonderfully  accurate  eye  to  judge  of 
bulk  and  proportion,  and  cannot  tolerate  architectural 
disposition.  You  never  lose  your  way  in  a  city  or 
country. 

Your  forte  lies  in  the  adoption  of  ways  and  means 
to  ends  in  judgment,  in  originality,  forethought,  con- 
trivance, and  penetration. 

But  you  lack  the  agreeable,  you  pass  no  compli- 
ments, not  enough,  but  you  read  a  man  right  through 
the  first  time,  and  are  happy  in  what  you  say;  it  just 
hits  the  nail  on  the  head.  Your  criticisms  are  remark- 
able, you  illustrate  well;  the  fact  is,  sir,  you  are  by 
nature  a  great  man,  and  need  only  circumstance  to 
make  you  a  great  man,  and  you  are  certainly  one  of 
the  best  men  I  ever  examined,  and  universally  be- 
loved. 


Perhaps  the  most  admirable  trait  of  character  about 
Jacob  Creath,  Jr.  was  in  deep  and  undying  love  for 
God  and  the  cause  of  God.  When  only  a  boy  of  eight 
or  ten,  he  went  to  school  in  Virginia.  The  Bible  was 
used  as  a  textbook  in  reading  classes.  When  called 
upon  to  recite,  he  would  often  become  so  choked  with 
emotion  that  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  sit 
down.  In  later  years,  Creath  could  very  honestly  say, 
"I  never  saw  the  day  when  I  did  not  desire  to  be  good 
and  please  God,  my  Maker."  Religion  was  an  intensely 
serious  business  with  Creath.  So  intent  was  he  in  al- 
ways doing  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  will  of  God 
that  he  had  almost  no  patience  with  the  short-comings 
of  his  fellow- men  on  this  point.  Sometimes  he  would 


THE  "IRON  DUKE" 


5 


pause  in  the  middle  of  his  sermons  and  scold  an  audi- 
ence severely,  and  then  proceed  to  preach  the  gospel 
of  Christ  with  the  simplicity,  pathos  and  melodrama 
that  would  move  his  audience  to  tears.  His  saturnine 
disposition  expressed  itself  at  times  by  an  irritable 
temper  but  only  because  of  his  lack  of  patience  with 
what  he  conceived  to  be  wrong. 

Creath  enjoyed  the  company  of  the  serious  minded 
where  he  discussed  the  cause  of  God.  Better  still,  he 
enjoyed  the  loneliness  of  the  outdoors  where  he  could 
meditate  about  God  and  often  pour  out  his  heart  in 
prayer.  The  prayers  of  Jacob  Creath  have  by  now  be- 
come almost  legendary.  L.B.  Wilkes  tells  the  story  of 
a  prayer  he  heard  from  Creath  back  in  June,  1854. 
Wilkes  had  gone  to  LaGrange,  Missouri  where  he  was 
scheduled  to  preach  on  Saturday  night,  Sunday  morn- 
ing and  Sunday  evening.  He  arrived  Saturday  after- 
noon and  went  immediately  to  the  home  of  a  Brother 
Gill.  He  found  Jacob  Creath,  Jr.  on  hand. 

It  rained  all  night  that  Saturday  night,  but  the  next 
morning  was  clear  and  warm.  Wilkes  observed  that 
Creath  was  meditative.  Through  breakfast,  he  had 
spoken  but  few  words.  Then  in  a  moment  he  turned  to 
Wilkes  and  said,  "Let's  take  a  walk."  They  walked 
into  a  woods  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  Not  a  word  was 
spoken.  Then  Creath  lifted  a  finger  to  the  right  and 
said,  "This  way."  They  walked  two  hundred  yards 
further,  and  Creath  spoke  solemnly  again,  "Yonder  is 
a  good  place."  They  walked  on  until  they  came  to  a 
large  fallen  tree.  Both  men  got  down  on  their  knees 
and  Creath  began  praying. 


6 


THE  "IRON  DUKE" 


Here,  beneath  the  tall  trees,  the  air  full  of  the 
music  of  glad  birds  and  redolent  with  the  odors  of 
thousands  of  flowers,  all  praising  God,  Brother  Creath 
said:  'Let  us  pray.'  We  fell  on  our  knees  and  O  such  a 
prayer!  The  earth  had  drunk  up  the  rain  and  all  na- 
ture seemed  to  be  refreshed  and  happy.  Every  leaf  and 
flower  and  bird  and  being  in  nature  around  us  seemed 
to  strive  to  its  utmost  to  magnify  God.  All  this  Bro. 
Creath  mentioned  in  his  prayer,  and  then  called  upon 
his  soul  and  all  that  was  within  him  to  bless  the  Lord. 
My  soul  trembled  with  excitement.  Bro.  Creath  talked 
so  to  God  that  I  voluntarily  felt  for  the  moment  that 
if  I  should  open  my  eyes  I  should  certainly  see  him 
upon  whom  no  one  can  look  and  live.  I  never  heard 
such  a  prayer  before,  and  now  thirty  years  have  passed 
since  that  remarkable  experience,  and  yet  I  have 
heard  no  such  prayer  since.  At  the  close  of  his  length 
prayer,  he  asked  me  to  pray.  I  did.  During  the  second 
prayer,  he  would  every  few  moments  break  forth  in 
expressions  of  thanksgiving  and  praise.  'Oh  bless  the 
Lord,  my  soul.  Give  thanks  unto  his  name.  His  mercy 
endureth  forever. 

T.P.  Haley  relates  the  story  that  during  the  Civil 
War,  a  company  of  troops  was  encamped  near  Pal- 
myra where  Creath  lived  with  a  view  to  capturing  the 
city  the  next  day.  That  night  Creath  went  out  into  a 
grove  to  pray.  The  leader  of  the  troops  happened  to 
be  near  the  grove,  and  upon  hearing  a  voice,  sneaked 
closer  to  see  what  was  happening.  He  saw  Creath 
bowed  in  prayer.  He  listened  as  Creath  prayed  for  his 
neighbors,  his  town,  and  asked  God  to  send  peace. 
That  night  the  troops  withdrew. 


THE  "IRON  DUKE" 


7 


It  would  be  unnatural  even  in  the  life  of  one  so 
serious  as  Creath  not  to  find  some  humorous  moments. 
Creath  rode  a  white  horse  which  he  called,  Jack,  and 
of  whom  he  was  very  fond.  On  one  occasion  he  stopped 
with  a  brother  at  a  certain  village,  and  the  man  sent 
the  horse  to  the  tavern  stable.  The  tavern  was  owned 
by  a  sister  that  knew  Creath  well.  Creath  was  anxious 
over  his  horse,  occasionally  through  the  stay  sending 
someone  to  the  stable  to  be  sure  old  Jack  had  been 
fed  and  watered.  The  lady  finally  became  annoyed 
and  sent  back  word:  "Go  tell  brother  Creath  that  I 
have  done  everything  for  his  horse  I  can  think  of,  ex- 
cept to  give  him  a  cup  of  coffee,  and  I  am  getting 
that  ready  now."  Creath  took  the  hint  and  let  her 
alone. 

Creath  was  very  bald  and  generally  wore  a  wig. 
Once  he  travelled  through  Maury  Count,  Tennessee 
and  spent  a  night  with  an  old  Brother  Henry  Zellner. 
The  next  morning,  Zellner  sent  the  negro  servant  boy 
up  to  Creath's  room,  instructing  him  to  sneak  in 
quietly,  prepare  a  fire,  and  have  the  room  in  readi- 
ness when  Creath  awakened.  In  a  moment,  the  negro 
boy  came  running  down  the  stairs,  exclaiming  ex- 
citedly, "Marse  Henryl  Marse  Henry!  I  Come  Quick!  ! 
Sumbody  done  scalped  dat  preacher  and  his  scalp's 
hangin  on  de  mantle!"  Before  doning  his  red  flannel 
night  cap,  Creath  had  taken  off  his  wig  and  placed  it 
upon  the  mantle. 

No  man  ever  had  a  greater  admirer  than  Alexander 
Campbell  did  in  Jacob  Creath.  In  later  years  it  was 


8 


THE  "IRON  DUKE" 


often  commented  that  Creath  looked  surprisingly  like 
Campbell.  Creath  was  tall  and  erect,  slender  but 
solidly  built  with  sharp  facial  features.  Creath  met 
Campbell  for  the  first  time  in  April,  1828  on  the  road 
between  Wellsburg  and  Bethany.  Creath  was  riding  a 
white  horse,  and  Campbell  at  the  time  was  hauling 
logs.  Both  men  became  steadfast  friends.  When  in  the 
fall  of  1830,  Campbell  set  out  on  an  extended  tour 
into  the  South,  Creath  accompanied  him.  During  the 
stay  in  Nashville,  Tennessee  Creath  spoke  several 
times.  On  Monday,  January  3,  1 831,  returning  from 
Nashville,  the  two  separated,  Creath  going  to  Fayette 
Count,  Kentucky  where  he  had  an  appointment  and 
Campbell  on  to  Greensburg  where  he  was  engaged  to 
speak.  When  Campbell  returned  to  his  home  a  month 
later,  he  had  been  gone  one  hundred  days,  traveled 
1,400  miles,  preached  seventy  sermons  and  had  en- 
gaged in  one  hundred  and  forty  "fireside  chats." 

Campbell  regarded  Creath  as  one  of  the  best  in- 
formed men  in  the  church,  particularly  was  this  so  in 
the  field  of  Church  History.  In  1847  Creath  wrote  a 
manuscript  of  eighty  to  ninety  pages  in  which  he 
showed  that  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Roman 
armies  in  A.D.  70  literally  fulfilled  the  prophecy  of 
Matthew,  chapter  24.  The  manuscript  was  never 
published. 

The  decade,  1830-40,  was  the  golden  era  for  the 
cause  of  primitive  Christianity  in  Kentucky,  and 
Creath  was  in  the  middle  of  this  activity.  John  T. 
Johnson,  brother  of  Richard  M.  ("Tecumseh")  Johnson, 


THE  "IRON  DUKE" 


9 


vice-president  of  the  United  States  during  Van  Buren's 
administration,  was  one  of  the  leading  preachers. 
"Raccoon"  John  Smith,  B.F.  Hall,  John  Allen  Gano, 
Aylette  Raines,  and  Jacob  Creath,  Sr.  were  among  the 
popular  Kentucky  preachers  of  the  day.  The  Great 
Crossings  Church  had  been  established  when  John  T. 
Johnson,  upon  his  conversion,  had  baptized  most  of  his 
relatives.  Georgetown  became  another  strong  point, 
begun  when  Johnson  baptized  Dr.  Hatch,  one  of  the 
professors  in  the  Baptist  College  there.  Creath  worked 
with  Johnson  at  Richmond  in  August,  1837  in  a  meet- 
ing which  lasted  almost  a  month  and  resulted  in  one 
hundred  and  eighty- five  baptisms.  The  year  before  he 
had  been  with  Johnson  at  New  Liberty,  Warsaw,  and 
Ghent.  Johnson  said  of  Creath:  "He  was  most  able,  ef- 
ficient, and  overpowering  in  his  discourses  every  day 
for  the  whole  time."  So  went  the  story  for  ten  years. 
People  flocked  to  the  preaching  of  the  ancient  order 
of  things,  and  Kentucky  saw  a  religious  reformation 
the  like  of  which  she  has  not  seen  since.  And  Jacob 
Creath,  Jr.  played  no  small  part  in  it. 

The  American  Christian  Missionary  Society  was 
established  in  October,  1849,  and  set  in  motion  a  wave 
of  opposition  throughout  the  brotherhood.  Creath  was 
not  only  the  earliest  but  the  most  vitriolic  opponent 
of  the  new  organization.  He  was  deeply  disappointed 
that  Alexander  Campbell  should  throw  his  influence 
behind  the  Society,  for  as  Creath  understood  Camp- 
bell, the  latter  had  opposed  any  human  organization 
proposing  to  do  the  work  of  the  church.  As  editor  of 


10 


THE  "IRON  DUKE" 


the  Christian  Baptist  Campbell  had  denounced  both 
the  Missionary  and  Bible  Societies.  His  later  explana- 
tion was  that  he  had  opposed  only  the  abuses  of  these 
organizations,  not  the  organizations  themselves.  Re- 
gardless of  how  honorable  Campbell  may  have  been 
in  this  explanation,  it  is  not  likely  that  the  readers  of 
the  Christian  Baptist  so  understood  his  opposition. 
When,  for  example,  T.M.  Henley  of  Virginia  was 
converted  by  reading  the  Christian  Baptist,  the  Re- 
ligious Herald,  a  Baptist  paper  published  at  Richmond, 
spoke  against  Campbell,  accusing  the  "Campbellites" 
of  being  opposed  to  missionary  and  bible  societies. 
Henley,  in  replying,  said: 

...He  [the  Religious  Herald  J  also  accuses  us  of 
being  opposed  to  Bible  Societies.  Here  again  he  has 
departed  from  the  truth.  I  will  question  him:  'Is  it  one 
plain  straight- forward  course  given  us  in  the  Scrip- 
tures' to  form  a  distinct  society  from  the  church  to 
propagate  the  christian  religion?  Where  is  the  ex- 
ample or  precept  recorded  in  the  New  Testament 
authorizing  combinations  of  Christians  and  infidels  to 
convert  the  world? 

It  is  obvious  that  T.M.  Henley  understood  the  position 
of  his  brethren  to  be  opposed  to  any  human  organiza- 
tion to  propagate  the  Christian  religion.  This  was  ex- 
clusively the  work  of  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ. 

From  the  days  of  the  Christian  Baptist  until  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Society  in  1849,  large  numbers  of 
brethren  understood  the  brotherhood  to  be  in  opposi- 
tion to  these  human  organizations.  But  after  1840,  it 


THE  "IRON  DUKE" 


1 1 


became  increasingly  evident  that  Campbell  was  not 
opposed,  but  rather  trying  to  pave  the  way  for  one. 
These  fears  grew  until  the  Society  was  actually  es- 
tablished, and  then  each  man  asked  himself  what  he 
should  do.  Many  who  were  opposed  gave  way  in  pref- 
erence to  the  judgment  of  others  in  the  hope  of  gain- 
ing peace.  Some  waited  patiently  in  the  sincere  hope 
of  learning  something  more  on  the  subject  to  enable 
them  conscientiously  to  share  the  optimism  of  others 
about  the  Society.  Here  and  there  a  few  congregations 
openly  announced  their  intentions  to  have  no  fellow- 
ship with  the  new  organization.  The  majority  of  con- 
gregations refused  any  support,  but  remained  silent, 
waiting  and  watching.  There  were  few  who  spoke  out 
against  the  enterprise,  lacob  Creath,  Jr.  by  all  odds 
was  the  leader  among  the  few. 

He  boldly  marched  up  against  Alexander  Camp- 
bell, charging  him  with  having  changed  his  position 
from  the  days  of  the  Christian  Baptist  and  of  being  the 
promoter  of  an  institution  for  which  there  was  no 
authority  in  the  Scriptures.  He  laid  the  challenge  down 
before  Campbell  in  the  following  words:  "You  say  our 
Saviour  and  the  apostles  did  not  denounce  conventions, 
as  such.  Did  they  denounce  Popery  or  corrupt  Protes- 
tantism, as  such?  Did  they  denounce  infant  baptism, 
or  creed  making,  or  auricular  confessions,  as  such?  It 
is  for  you  to  show  where  they  authorized  conventions." 
Creath  pressed  his  point  home,  "...it  will  be  seen 
that,  in  this  discussion,  the  advocates  of  conventions 
have  totally  abandoned  the  rule  on  which  we  and  all 


12 


THE  "IRON  DUKE" 


Protestants  set  out- -that  the  Bible  alone  is  the  religion 
of  Protestants.  They  have  not  produced  one  passage  of 
scripture,  to  countance  those  assembles  from  the  New 
Testament..." 

To  Creath  the  Society  was  definitely  without  a  di- 
vine commission.  "Because  God  our  Father  divinely 
commissioned  his  Son  to  our  world,  and  His  Son  sent 
the  apostles  as  missionaries  to  the  world,  and  they 
divinely  organized  individual  congregations  all  over 
the  Roman  empire,  in  the  first  century,  does  it,  there- 
fore, follow,  that  we  in  the  nineteenth  century,  with- 
out any  divine  warrant,  and  contrary  to  our  own  rule 
of  faith,  have  the  right  to  call  conventions,  form 
Bible,  missionary ,  and  tract  societies,  elect  popes,  and 
do  all  other  things  we  wish?  My  logic  does  not  run 
that  way.  They  had  divine  credentials  for  what  they 
did.  We  have  none  for  what  we  are  doing.  That  is  the 
difference  between  them  and  us." 

"As  to  the  argument  offered  to  sustain  these  asso- 
ciations," Creath  went  on,  "--that  they  are  acceptable 
to  our  brethren--we  would  say,  that  they  have  been 
unacceptable  to  them  until  recently.  What  has  pro- 
duced this  change  in  them?  What  new  light  is  this 
which  has  sprung  up  so  recently  upon  this  subject  ?  I 
confess  I  have  no  more  light  now,  upon  the  subject  of 
associations,  than  I  had  twenty-five  years  ago.  Will 
these  brethren,  who  have  been  so  recently  and  suddenly 
converted  from  their  former  faith  upon  this  subject, 
furnish  us  with  a  small  portion  of  this  new  light,  that 
we  may  be  converted  too?  I  suppose  the  golden  calf 


THE  "IRON  DUKE" 


'3 


was  acceptable  to  all  the  Jews,  except  Moses.  I  be- 
lieve the  calves  set  up  at  Dan  and  Bethel  were  popular 
with  Jeroboam  and  the  ten  tribes.  The  report  of  the 
spies  was  acceptable  to  all  the  Jews,  except  Caleb 
and  Joshua.  The  pope  is  very  acceptable  to  the 
Catholics;  so  are  creeds  and  clerical  conventions  to 
all  the  Protestant  parties.  But  does  all  of  this  prove 
that  they  are  acceptable  to  God?" 

Creath  never  extricated  himself  from  the  convic- 
tion that  a  younger  corps  of  preachers  had  gathered 
around  Campbell  in  the  latter's  older  age  and  had  in- 
fluenced him  in  a  direction  he  would  not  have  gone 
twenty  years  earlier.  With  this  younger  corps,  made 
up  in  the  main  of  Robert  Richardson,  D.S.  Burnet, 
Isaac  Errett,  and  W.K.  Pendleton,  Creath  felt  that  he 
had  damaged  himself  beyond  repair.  When  the  influ- 
ence of  this  group  came  to  be  felt  in  the  Millennial 
Harbinger,  the  whole  tone  of  the  paper  changed.  From 
an  emphasis  upon  primitive  Christianity,  the  paper 
spoke  much  of  speculation  and  human  philosophy. 
Later,  when  the  Civil  War  broke,  the  Harbinger  was 
replete  with  insinuations  against  brethren  in  the  South, 
and  fostered  a  strong  Northern  sentiment.  Creath  felt 
that  this  was  out  of  order  in  the  periodical. 

Alexander  Campbell  died  in  1866,  and  for  the  next 
three  years  Robert  Richardson  was  busy  writing  his 
"Memoirs."  Probably  both  Tolbert  Fanning  and  Jacob 
Creath,  Jr.  hoped  to  get  the  work  for  both  wrote  at 
different  times  biographies  of  Campbell  in  serial  form 
in  the  Gospel  Advocate.  But  the  work  remained  for 


14 


THE  "IRON  DUKE" 


Richardson  to  complete.  When  the  finished  "Memoirs 
of  Alexander  Campbell"  finally  appeared  in  1869, 
Creath  was  wounded.  His  name  was  rarely  mentioned 
and  at  that,  only  when  it  was  unavoidable.  He  felt 
that  his  significance  had  been  completely  overlooked, 
so  on  Nov.  22,  1871  wrote  Richardson  a  personal  letter 
inquiring  the  reason.  The  letter  received  no  reply. 

It  is  entirely  likely  that  Richardson  considered 
Creath  an  egotistical,  sensitive  old  man  who  had  an 
exaggerated  feeling  of  his  own  importance.  But 
coupled  with  this  was  the  knowledge  that  Creath  was 
out  of  step  with  the  bulk  of  the  brethren  Richardson 
represented.  Richardson  was  as  much  wedded  to  the 
Society  as  anybody,  and  hardly  capable  of  appreciating 
the  value  of  any  man  of  different  sentiment.  This  at- 
titude toward  Creath  became  more  general  and  grad- 
ually increased  as  time  passed. 

In  1887,  when  Jacob  Creath,  Jr.  had  been  dead  one 
year,  T.P.  Haley  was  busy  collecting  information  for 
his  history  of  the  restoration  movement  in  Missouri. 
He  wrote  to  E.C.  Browning,  then  preaching  at  Palmyra 
--Creath's  home  for  forty  years--to  get  information. 
Browning  discouraged  giving  Creath  very  much  prom- 
inence, complaining  that  he  was  a  one-sided  man.  He 
reported  that  Creath  left  a  mass  of  material  intended 
for  a  biography,  but  urged  that  it  never  be  written. 
Phillip  Donan  had  written  his  life  of  Creath  ten  years 
earlier,  while  Creath  still  lived,  but  Browning  com- 
plained that  it  should  never  have  been  written. 

In  view  of  Creath's  position  one  is  little  surprised 
in  finding  this  attitude. 


THE  "IRON  DUKE" 


15 


On  January  17,  1884  Creath  passed  his  eighty-fifth 
birthday,  now  old  and  feeble  and  even  more  serious 
than  ever.  The  church,  he  feared  had  completely 
apostatized,  and  there  was  little  he  could  do  about  it. 
His  sympathies  lay  with  the  American  Christian  Re- 
view, once  so  marvelously  edited  by  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin, and  now  edited  by  John  F.  Rowe.  He  was  therefore 
pleasantly  surprised  one  evening  early  in  1884,  to  hear 
a  knock  on  his  cabin  door,  and  in  going  there,  to  find 
John  F.  Rowe.  They  had  never  met,  but  he  knew  and 
loved  Rowe  from  his  editorial  work.  For  three  hours 
that  evening  they  talked,  Creath  rapidly  reviewing  his 
earlier  work  in  both  Kentucky  and  Missouri  in  pro- 
claiming the  cause  of  primitive  Christianity.  As  Rowe 
passed  to  the  door  to  depart,  Creath  smoothered  the 
smaller  man  in  his  massive  arms,  and  there,  standing 
in  the  open  doorway,  looking  into  the  starry  sky, 
Creath  prayed  as  only  he  could,  that  God  would  guide 
the  younger  man  in  the  work  that  lay  ahead. 

Two  years  before  his  death,  Creath  wrote  out  his 
own  obituary.  He  requested  his  wife  to  have  no  funeral 
service  since  neither  Christ  nor  His  apostles  had  any, 
and  that  he  be  buried  in  a  plain,  cheap  coffin  with  his 
New  Testament  and  a  copy  of  Campbell's,  LIVING 
ORACLES  as  his  pillow. 

He  died  on  Saturday  morning,  January  9,  1886  at 
seven  o'clock,  and  was  buried  according  to  his  own 
request.  Upon  learning  of  his  death,  Rowe  wrote: 


THE  "IRON  DUKE" 


Jacob  Creath  was  the  'Iron  Duke'--the  'Duke  of 
Wellington'--of  the  Restoration  as  to  faith,  and  firm- 
ness, and  inflexibility  of  purpose.  He  would  neither  be 
bought  nor  sold.  He  was  made  of  such  stuff  as  martyrs 
are  made  of. 


